


When the Ashes Fall

by worldismyne



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Silent Hill Fusion, Blood and Gore, Multiple Endings, Psychological Horror, Survival Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:33:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27061990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worldismyne/pseuds/worldismyne
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal field trip. Now Zim has to go rescue the Dib with a busted PAK and nobody to rely on. Normally Zim would rant about how filthy humans are, but after seeing what lies in the old mining town, he kind of misses humans.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	1. Level 1: Pistol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's spoopy season once again! I figured, in honor of the month of October (and renewed interest in fanfiction) I thought I would edit and remaster one of my favorite IZ fics from 2011. I will probably have to add more tags as the story updates.

It was the first time the class had actually gone on a field trip and Zim was seated next to Dib. The human gazed to the street uninterested in his surroundings. Street lights passed by outside the window of the bus, reflecting off the human's comically large glasses.There was only so many hours the two could bicker under their breath before Ms. Bitters silenced them with withering remarks.

Zim loathed that he shared the human's disinterest in the trip. They were going to a small town where humans used to mine coal. He couldn't care less about how old humans manufactured inferior fuel that destroyed their living quarters, but his peers seemed ecstatic just being on the bus. Any argument Zim came up with to avoid the trip was met with harsh suspicion. In order to maintain appearances, both outcasts had been corralled into attending what would certainly be a colossal waste of time.

Dib sat up with a puzzled expression on his face. 

"We're going too fast." Dib muttered. He clutched the papers in his lap with growing unease, looked at the wind shield, and grew as pale as the glow of oncoming headlights. "Zim get down." Dib said.

"Why should Zim-" The human pushed him down before he could finish speaking.

"We're going to crash!" Dib shouted, the bus rose in panic for a few blissful seconds.

Then the impact came.

* * *

Pain was the first thing the invader noticed upon waking on the floor of the bus. Or, no this wasn't the floor, there was too much glass. His PAK should have mended him by now, a few scraps and pulled muscles were child's play in Irken medicine. Perhaps he hadn't actually fallen unconscious? Yes, that would make more sense then being knocked out by two human machines colliding. The other's were probably silent from the fear, those squishy meat sacks. It was the perfect opportunity to mock the humans for their fragility.

Zim groaned. For once the Dib worm hadn't been wrong about something. Papers were strewn about the cabin; backpacks were haphazardly hanging off of upended seats throughout the bus. Even the slightest move hurt and the glass strewn about made for poor footing. Sitting up shouldn't be this hard, but it wasn't the only thing out of place.

"Those pathetic worm babies left Zim behind!" Zim scoffed. The bus was empty, all the windows had been shattered, with no bodies were in sight. Zim put his hand on the seat to stand up. He shuddered at the sensation of liquid adhering to his glove. Ripping the wet parchment from his hand, Zim scoffed.

'Help me' was jaggedly scrawled on the pristine white sheet in red letters.

"…it's written in BLOOD!" Zim shrieked dropping the paper, his PAK analyzed the substance to have Dib's DNA signature. "Of course Dib would leave a booby trap in the middle of nowhere! He will pay for sullying my mighty uniform! I'll find him, make him take me home, then capture him as a human slave!" With more physical effort than he'd like to admit, Zim was able to crawl out of the wreckage and onto the welcoming concrete.

Soft ash fell from the sky like snow and dissipated on the ground. The sun filtered to the ground through heavy overcast and there wasn't a human in sight. For once, this isolation wasn't comforting. He followed the road toward the nearest town, his communicator jammed with a constant static that grated at his nerves.

Civilization offered no comfort, as Zim found the town equally desolate. Rows of empty houses in advanced stages of decay greeted the invader as he reached the heart of the town. All other roads leading out of the town were caved in farther than Zim's technology could reach. It was no wonder they had crashed, this place was hardly fit for even humans.

A low growl came from behind him.

Zim turned to face what appeared to be an Earth dog with glazed over eyes, but something was... wrong. Its matted fur had been forced to stand at unnatural angles with dirt and what appeared to be blood. It continued to growl and took a step forward; its claws scraping the street. Zim may be unfamiliar with the nuances of Earth, but he recognized a predator and he knew the difference between living and dead. This thing fell in-between and released a suffocatingly pungent odor.

A clump of fur and flesh ripped itself from the body as the dog lunged for him, bearing rotted teeth. Zim tried to activate his PAK legs, but all it did was grind fruitlessly, jammed with the fallen ash. Zim ducked, and the creature landed shoulder first into the pavement. It's limbs contorted to support it's broken neck. A loud, furious roar emanated through the twisted vocal cords as it prepared to strike once more.

Before it could fully advance, Zim heard a loud bang and blacked out.

* * *

Zim awoke once more, this time on the sunken booth of an empty restaurant. 

"WHO DARES ASSAULT ZIM?" Zim asked in a rage. He whipped his head around and saw Gir sitting happily on the table.

"You fell asleep when the doggy tried to snack on your head. Then I came with the human ray gun and saved all the smurfs!" Gir giggled as he spun on the table. Fear eased into frustration as Zim let out a long sigh. Regardless of circumstances, he was glad his minion had the sense of mind to come looking for him in a crisis.

"Gir! Why did you use a human weapon?" Zim reprimanded. "You have your own weapons." Unless the robot had replaced them with food-stuff or bees, or whatever ridiculous thing had caught the automaton's interest this time. He just never dare imagine that it would have been human technology. 

"They don't work here." Gir shook his head. "The dusty snow makes our stuff really slow, like an old china fish that breaks when you sneeze." Zim rose to his feet as Gir began gnawing on one of the diner spoons. All comforting normalcy aside, Zim longed to leave this human settlement as quickly as possible. Revenge on Dib could wait until he had full maintenance done on his PAK. Besides, maybe being terrorized by whatever paranormal creatures that lurked in the fog would teach the human a powerful lesson on the dangers of pursuing beings greater than him. Yes, of course, Zim would leave the human here on purpose as a part of his ingenious plan. He wasn't just, running away because he was scared.

"Gir fly us home NOW!" He demanded. Gir stared at him blankly; to think that this was the Tallest's best robot.

"I can't, the limp boy won't let me." Gir sniffled, his head hung low. Zim couldn't bring himself to further scold the pathetic robot, not if he wanted a chance at understanding it's jumbled thoughts.

"The limp boy?"

"People talk about him a lot." Gir grinned, immediately invigorated. "They say he's all weird n' crazy like… like Dib! Looks like him too! Only less confuseded and more sad." It probably was Dib, knowing how disoriented his minion could be. Perhaps he really did need the human to escape this town after all, as a drone. He could make the human operate one of the undamaged vehicles in town with his stupidly long legs. Yes, and congratulate Zim on being the only being that managed to not get lost in this place.

"Right, where did you see him?" Zim sighed shaking his head. 

"Uhh… it was big and had a place full of slides and other fun stuff." 

"The school! Gir stay here, I've got to go find that stupid human again." The robot, as helpful as he'd been, would become a liability. He couldn't risk attracting any more of those dog creatures should his partner have a manic episode.

"Masta wait! Here use this!" Gir handed Zim the old pistol. "When you use it, aim, then tickle its tummy and it will kill stuff." Zim tried to avoid touching the thing in spite of the machine's insistence, before caving at it's pathetic tears and leaving with the gun in hand. He didn't like the idea of using human tools, but as long as it killed things it at least had some potential. Zim walked down the street carefully, with the diner at his back. He kept an eye out for any more undead dogs and was plagued by an ominous flapping noise.

* * *

Zim squinted as the sun grazed the top of a looming building.

"Ss choo ll?" Zim sounded out as he walked into the building's shadow. "Humans are so stupid!" He opened up the double doors and took a step inside. The doors swung shut behind him, blocking out the last remaining embers of sunlight. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?" Darkness answered him with chilling silence. Zim walked into the guidance office. The desk and walls were dimly lit by unseen forces, giving the small room an ominous glow. The poster that normally had a face of a smiling child was now dripping with a familiar bloody scrawl.

_A key is a simple, yet complex thing. In a note book you will find the key to time. Everything has a price, so be careful._

"Can humans ever say what they mean?" The Dib couldn't just tell him where to go, no, he had to make a little game of it. Any amusement Zim would have found in their back and forth was crushed under a day's worth of fatigue. As Zim walk out of the room, his PAK made a sharp hissing noise. A cold, clammy force slammed against his back, nearly pulling him to the ground. He threw the abomination against the wall, displeased by the slick squelch of flesh again brick. He couldn't make out anything clearly in the shadows, and he refused to linger long enough to see what had attacked him.

He continued down the long hallway at a hurried pace, chased by the faint buzz of dying florescent lights. He continued down the hall, past rows of green lockers, a hue that reminded Zim of Irken blood.

Something scraped the tile floor.

It had followed him.

Zim whipped around, in a brave attempt to see what made the noise. A loud shriek echoed throughout the hall as a white creature dragged itself into the light. The sounds of bone scraping against tile were unbearable. It wore the mutilated face of a human child, with a toothless, empty grin. He began to panic as it pursued him and tried to fire the gun in his hand rather than focus on the cracking and popping of the creature's limbs. Zim succeeding in shooting a round, but the thing moved forward on hands and wheels punctured through the knees.

Zim shot it again and it collapsed forward with a high-pitched moan. The thing twitched and convulsed on the grimy floor until Zim shot it three more times.

Zim usually didn't consider himself squeamish, but the sight of the grotesque sack of flesh made him shiver. He stepped closer to the mass and turned it over with his foot. It lacked clothing or human, its pasty while skin hung on its limbs like a mottled tapestry. Though greatly disturbed, Zim needed to find the note book Dib had written about. Zim walked down the hall, the old radiator hung and snarled through the air ducts occasionally releasing billows of steam. The building moaned as Zim stepped along the corridor, most of the doors were locked or jammed. It was an awful lot of trouble for a key.

* * *

Zim came to a classroom where the door had been torn off its hinges. Walking inside, he stepped over the wadded up paper and broken pencils. Zim checked the teacher's drawer for the notebook, what he found was a drawer filled with food that had been confiscated before the mine exploded. All it amounted to now was a piled of putrid black matter. Zim quickly shut the drawer and continued his search.

He came to a peculiar desk. It too had been stuffed full of garbage, on the desk top terms like freak and psychopath were carved into the wood. Obviously the work of fellow students in order to make whoever sat here unwelcome. A tattered blue notebook stuck out of the rubbish of the desk, he pulled it out and flipped through the pages.

_September 9th,_

_I happened again, I don't know why they can't leave me alone!? All I want to do is study the paranormal and everyone treats it like a crime, even my father. All I want to do is help. I wish something would change, anything. It's not fair that people are hunted down for their dreams. I'm not even sure if what I believe is right any more, maybe I should just give up all together. Everyone always said there was a place for me at Blood Bridge._

_November 14th,_

_I can't believe it, I won't believe it! For the first time I had been happy, truly happy and they had to just ruin it all. I had found everything I ever needed, proof that I was sane, someone who believed me, someone who listened, even maybe… a friend? But of course they couldn't let it be, they just couldn't ignore me for once in my life. I hate them, I hate all of them. They don't even deserve to die, they should just wallow in the pit that they've dug for themselves. One day I'll leave them behind, then they'll be sorry. They'll be sorry alright._

A rusty key fell out of the book and clattered on the floor. Zim stooped down and picked it up by its frayed blue ribbon. Somewhere the ring of a telephone cut through the silence in the room. Zim followed the noise, picked up the receiver, and heard a distorted voice begin to sing.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear- Oh, I'm sorry, I've seem to have forgotten your name."

"Who are you!?" Zim demanded.

"Oh, thank you. Happy Birthday dear who are you, Happy Birthday to you."

"I said who are you!?" Zim shouted at the receiver. The thing on the other line just laughed.

"Happy 13th Birthday!" The tone was so eerily familiar, Zim couldn't shake the wave of deja vu that fell over him. But he's certain he's never had this conversation before. 

"You must have confused me with another stink beast." He designed his 'date of birth' to be on a rare Earth day so no one would remember his age. 

"NO!" The voice shouted, "I know you and it's your 13th birthday today." Logically, Zim knew he should hang up the phone, but what if he was being watched? If he violated Earth etiquette, would he remain trapped in this town as a hostage? Or worse? And how did this thing know... No it couldn't be Febuary already. 

"Don't waste my time Earth filthy-"

"But buddy, I have a special present for you at the clock tower." He did know that voice, the way his breath invaded every auditory canal.

"…K-keef?" No beastie could strike fear into the invader quite like the overly clingy red head. His persistence was unhindered by logic or fatigue and of all the humans Zim had hoped to find...

Zim hoped to find humans?

"Would you like to give pain or receive it?" Keef giggled. "You can have the one you HATE the most! ...Happy Birthday buddy." The breathing had died down, and for a brief second, Zim longed to continue talking to a sentient creature. 

"Keef wait, where is everyone?" Zim shouted, but the phone line went dead. "And it's not Zim's Birthday." He hung up the phone only to have it fall impotently to the ground with a severed line; though when it had been cut was unknown. Zim shaked of a chill and ran to the door. Anything had to be better than the creaks and clicks of the empty classroom.

He reloaded his gun and thought. Dib's writing said that Zim needed 'the Key to time' and Keef just talked about a clock tower, so the key must be of use to there. He exited the hall satisfied with his conclusion and entered the courtyard of the school. Once again, Zim found himself bathed in ash. Though, this time, there was no light; only an inky black sky.

In the center of the courtyard an old tower leaned against the far corner. The clock-face dominated the tower, set above a cupboard sized door. The walls shuddered and moaned, holding back an unknown evil. Zim tentatively stepped forward, and slowly placed the key into a small lock on the door. It grated against the lock, resisting the whole way. Using his thin claws, Zim pried the door of the clock tower open. Rust flaked off as the hinges were groggily drawn out of their slumber. Zim was hit was the overwhelming stench of copper and iron.

Inside lay a freshly severed human hand that tightly gripped a pair of broken glasses. A hospital band with human teeth marks and clung to what was left of the wrist with coagulated blood. It was hard to read anything on the band, not that the alien had tried. He gently pried the glasses from the cold hand to confirm what he already knew; they were Dib's. A box of bullets sat next to a sawed off shotgun towards the back of the small enclosure. He reluctantly crawled toward the new weapon and ammo and clutched both to his chest. He refused to let his feet leave the ground, afraid the enclosure might swallow him whole.

He should have found Dib by now. If not here, than where?

A high pitched alarm rang, Zim startled and fell on what used to be a hand, but was now a mutilated body missing the accursed hand. He scrambled back, human filth sticking to his clothing. Landing on his back he faced a blood-red sky. The once humble clock tower was twisted into a state of despair, with mangled arms marking an unclear time on the clockface. Zim jumped to his feet as best he could on the broken stones of the courtyard. Uneven terrain was not ideal in any situation.

As the alarm faded into the night, a saccharine laughter flitted from inside the tower. The heady scent of rotten pork permeated the air, making the alien gag. Whatever was inside was getting closer. He needed to run.

"Happy Birthday Zim." Keef chuckled from inside the clock tower. The invader froze, fighting a brief flash of empathy. His life would be easier if Keef was out of the picture, but the starving beasts of this world did not deserve even the scummiest prey. Still, the clock-tower amplified the distorted laughs of the human along with the distinct rumble of digestion. He back away from the tower as quickly as he could.

Moans began to burble to the surface. Fleshy ropes shot out of the small doorway wrapping around the adjacent doors, trapping Zim in the courtyard. Cursing his hesitation, Zim fumbled with his shot gun. He would not let some disgusting emotions make himself this thing's next meal.

A large mass began to squeeze through the door and dragged itself into the red-tinted light. It was a disgusting, oily mass of all the school children from the bus. They were conjoined at every point, some appeared to be stitched into place while others seemed to have melted into the creature before him. The amalgam of familiar faces gaped listlessly, like fish at a marked. Though their mouths hung open, it didn't sound like the moans were truly coming from them. In the center, Keef's torso was mounted, his arms pulled back behind him, trapped in the creature's flesh. He looked at Zim, with the same manic smile he always had.

"What happened to all the stink babies!" Zim asked as he held in the bile that threatened to spill from his mouth due to the inhuman moans of his former classmates. 

"They're gone now, I'm the only one left." Keef said, his face moved over the blank expanses of skin, like a lily pad on water. Thick tendrils slipped out of the mouths of his peers, snaking their way to Zim's feet. He was jerked upside down into the air, a shower of useless shells fell to the pavement. "Are you happy Zim?" Keef's grinned through multiple rows of teeth. Drool pooled from between his teeth, but to Zim, it might as well been acid. The corners of his mouth wormed across his body, splitting the creature in half. As it opened it's maw, Zim could see the woven remains of his class slowly breakdown. He could feel it try to pull him into the forest of digested limbs. "I'm being punished now, just like you wanted." 

"NO!" Zim screamed at Keef, shot gun raised at the obstructed view of his former friend. "I WANTED TO DO IT!" Zim shot Keef squarely in the face and dropped to the ground. The creature writhed, spewing hundreds of fleshy worms out of the gaping wound in an attempt to capture the Irken, despite it's blindness. There were too many of them, Zim shot the quivering mass of flesh that blocked the doors and ran out of the school with Dib's glasses in hand.

If that hospitalized corpse found them, perhaps Dib had ended up there from wounds. He couldn't bear to think of what he'd do if Dib was somewhere in the moaning mass he was running away from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Write down the number best reflecting your reaction to the chapter, one for average and four for horrified. Keep track of your numbers throughout the story. It will determine your ending.
> 
> 1*2*3*4


	2. Level 2: Shot Gun

The world flickered like dying film as Zim stepped outside of the school house. It seemed everything had gone back to the way it had been when Zim first arrived: grey, bleak and covered in ash. Zim wasn't a fan of the town regardless, but he decided that he'd rather deal with the constant flapping of the possessed birds than the disgusting rust and blood that would creep in when the alarm rang. The longer he remained in this place, the worse his technology became. There were no functioning clocks, no chandlers, and the shifting of the world made it hard to track the sun. Had he been here a day already, or two?

He walked down the deserted street trying to calm himself down. Actually, the town wasn't completely empty, just full of mutilated monsters... and Gir. His communicator would only produce static anymore, but if he went back to the diner he could loose another day. The poor little robot would just have to sit tight a little while longer. Besides, if the ash could incapacitate his PAK this bad, what would it do to his poorly constructed minion?

As Zim walked, he could see the hospital peer through the curtain of soot. It was a large facility, but hardly suitable for the medical treatment Dib would need once Zim got his hands on the human.

He could hear the beat of leathery wings as a decaying bird the size of a pterodactyl swooped in from above. Feathers rained down as it screeched, reaching for Zim's neck with puss lined claws. This beast wasn't like the others; it was agile and very agitated. With minimal visibility, Zim was unable to aim his pathetic human weapon at the creature. Instead, he ran all the way to the doors of the hospital, the 'bird' close behind him.

Zim pulled against the heavy iron door, barely making an opening, before the bird dove for a second strike. Zim slipped through the crack, narrowly avoiding a skeletal beak. The door swung shut with a defiant clang, leaving Zim in complete darkness. With a grunt Zim pried a light from his PAK. With a few good smacks, it flicker back to life piercing the darkness down a long hallway. Old gurneys and IV stands were cast about the hall, making the walkway a narrow mine-field of broken equipment. He walked up to the information desk, a tattered map of the hospital lay folded on the table next to an open book. He picked up the map, if it was here he might as well use it. Looking around a last time, he confirmed his suspicions.

The hospital had been deserted.

* * *

Without a proper directory, the alien was forced to check each room for the hiding human. After dealing with the monster ridden streets, the quiet sanatorium was an unwelcome change. Room after room was devoid of all life, and did little to quell the growing anxiety in the invader's gut. Nothing should be this desolate with predators around. Clutching the gun tightly, Zim approached room 408, a heavy breathing came from inside the room. Who knew what could be in there, a monster child, a giant germ? The possibilities were disturbingly endless. A blood curdling hack came from inside. Zim opened the door to the dark room pointing his gun widely about; an awful stench filled the air.

"Do I have a visitor?" Asked a bed ridden human. "It's been so long since I have. Close the door dear. The last thing you need is something sneaking in here." A human, a living, breathing human! Zim never thought he'd ever be happy to see or rather hear a normal human.

"What are you doing here?" Zim asked, as he stepped further into the room. Even the stupidest of creatures should know it isn't safe in this town. Through the blinds, small strips of light illuminated the room. He could make out a woman in her mid-thirties laying on hospital bed at a steep angle; the thin linens were tucked tight around her chest.

"It's a hospital, I'm still recovering. Then again, I might not be recovering at all, this isn't a normal aliment… " She studied him with deep-golden eyes. "Your skin, did that happen after you came here?" Zim examined himself in surprise. He had never met a human before that was concerned about his well-being, especially one so frail.

"No I was born with a skin condition." With a warm smile, she placed a hand on her heart.

"Oh that's a relief," the female said, "what is your name?"

"Zim." He looked over his shoulder toward the door. "Look we're not safe here." The room was cleaner than any place in town, yet something was making him want to gag. Any moment now, a monster could come for them. 

"Ah, figured that out hunh?" The woman sat up and the sheet fell relieving her gauze wrapped torso. The smell seemed to come from her. "I'm afraid to tell you that' it's too late for me. I can't go anywhere." Zim tried not to recoil as realization dawned on him. A greenish, black maze of caverns covered her chest, infected fluid staining the bandages. When she coughed, curled phlegm would ooze from tiny fistula along her rib-cage. Her violet hair barely held onto her sagging scalp. 

"I-" Zim stuttered, he could see the woman before him was slowly decomposing in front of him. That rotten sewage tainted pork smell, it was from dying humans. 

"Please, don't look so sad, it's not your fault, I've been this way for a long time." She couldn't so much as chuckle without coughing. "I may not be able to leave, but perhaps I could help you? You didn't come all this way to see a stranger after all." Zim snapped back to the reality of his situation. He was here for find Dib, not pity some human who had come to terms with their fate. 

"Right, I'm looking for a... friend of mine. He has dark hair, glasses, and a gigantic head. He ran off after an inferior machine exploded." The lady looked surprised for a moment, then smiled. "Have you seen him?"

"Oh yes, he has his own special room… you said he was your friend?" 

"Yes, I guess I did." He shifted, not wanting to stare at her blackened gums.

"His ward is upstairs, be careful."

"Thank you." Zim exited and took a few steps down the hall, unsure which direction to turn.

The alarm blared. With the piercing sound, the white wall became chain link fences, binding together haphazardly placed body bags. Zim turned back toward 408, the door still wide open.

He ran for the door, the human had no form of protection and he had thoughtlessly left her in harm's way! His footsteps sounded strange on the now chain link floor, a thin net that kept him from falling onto discarded medical equipment. He came back to the room and walked in.

It was completely empty, her bed a sunken, red mess. "WHY!" he screamed "WHY MUST EVERYTHING BE FILTHY!" The noise wouldn't stop, clouding his vision and making it hard to stand. The world around him went black, leaving him wondering who's footsteps did he hear at the other end of the hall.

* * *

Zim woke with a dry cold compress on his forehead. "What?" He asked faintly. It was unclear how long he had been unconscious, but his caretaker had been kind enough to keep him on his side.

"That was quite a fall you had there." Said a figure nurse scrubs.

"…Tak!" Zim screamed. Zim pulled himself up on unsteady feet and observed the other Irken with caution. She looked like any human nurse would, save for the one arm wrapped in gauze.

"My other patient informed me that you got lost looking for the med-psych ward."

"Why are you here!"

"I-"

"Why!"

"I-"

"WHY!"

"…I came here-"

"WHY I SAY!

"I came here after I failed in my mission. I'm forced to work here now that my base is gone." She rubbed her temple with her good hand. "I am under no obligation to help you, but if I don't, you'll keep wandering around here being a nuisance. I can show you to the room you're looking for IF you leave me alone."

"Fine. As long as you stay and help Zim." She trembled with fury, only to give up with a tired sigh. They walked down the hall; most of the decay had disappeared, as if the world had righted itself while he had been unconscious. He could taste the victory that was close at hand as they entered the unit. Oh how Dib was going to pay for what he did, making Zim save him! It was always something with that child. Luckily all of it would be over soon. Tak opened a door with no number, the room was dry and smelled thickly of iron. In the center of the room a plastic curtain surrounded the bed spread; a red-brown substance was smeared on the inside of it. Like someone had been struggling when they set them inside."Is he in that… thing?" Zim asked.

"No, he left against medical advice... Again." Tak grumbled. "He's a regular here, constantly getting injured. The last time he was here he was in an awful state. Even so his father took him with him to a 'better' place." She shook her head, Zim's eyes widened in shock. 

"He's dead!" Zim shouted.

"Not really, I think he's unconscious, where ever he is. It's just as well the boy is horrible. He's done terrible things to us." She guarded her wrapped arm. "I swear if I see him hear again, I'm bolting him to the bed."

"What are you talking about?" How could someone in critical condition do terrible things to anyone? 

"He hurts those who reject him." Tak pulled at her gauze. Zim had never seen rotten flesh on an irken before. Why would she generate decay into her human disguise? "I shouldn't be here, it's not like I was ever going to help anyone on this planet by choice." She redressed her wound with a satisfied smile. "Whatever, it doesn't matter now. All of this is going to end soon. Now that his father has taken him, everything will be alright." Zim grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. With all the strength he could muster, he shoved the girl against the wall.

"My Dib-thing is being dragged, bleeding, begging for Zim's help-" Tak stared back with no emotion. "Now, now he could be dead in a ditch and you don't care!" Zim ranted, this wasn't good he needed the Dib to get home. 

"What was that?" Tak asked slowly.

"Zim said my Dib-thing-" 

"Your Dib-thing?" Tak said with eyes wide. "Zim…" The mottled decay crawled up her arms. She glared at him, spitting each word through strands of navy ichor. "YOU'RE THE ONE EVERYONE'S LOOKING FOR!" The walls rattled releasing the missing nurses from hidden doorways in the panels. Their heads were wrapped in gauze like a hornet's nest. Their limbs mismatched, as if they to be sewn on again. Medical implements clattered in their pockets, several held scalpels or bone saws. Tak extended rusty PAK legs to reach an impossible height and dropped her disguise showing the full effect the rot was having on her green flesh.

"Why would people be looking for Zim?" He asked, taking a step back. "Zim doesn't do public appearances, I bid you farewell, good day." He blasted a hole in the door with his shotgun and ducked to crawl through.

"Get him!" Tak shouted. He glanced behind him to see the spliced nurses shuffling after him at an increasingly alarming speed. He turned a corner and ran into the nearest side room. It was pitch black inside. He ran to the end of the room to find there was no where else to run. As he turned the invader saw the horde of nurses rush in. As soon as they touched the shadows, they stopped moving, aside from the occasionally twitch. Zim inched along the side of the wall silently.

He kept his steady retreat when he hit the end of a shelf with his head. All the nurses turned towards his direction with murderous intent. Zim stood still hoping that they were as stupid as they were ugly. A cold, sharp hand grasped his shoulder.

"GYAAAAAH!" He screamed shooting the thing behind him only to find that it was nothing more than a plastic skeleton. He slowly turned mentally kicking himself for blowing his cover over a human display. He frantically willed his hands to stop shaking long enough to reload the shotgun as the nurses scrambled towards him. The hoard fell over tables, crawled along the floor and lashed out in an effort to deal a lethal blow. Then the alarm rang.

* * *

Gone, it was all gone; the nurses, the tables, the stupid sneaky skeleton. All of it was replaced by a bloody rune in the middle of the floor. He shrugged, sure it was horrible and filthy, but if the nurses were gone then Tak should be too. Now would be a wonderful time to leave and find Dib. Who had been drug away from the hospital by his father of science. Zim sighed, he had no idea where to start looking other than sciency places. He would need a city map from the abandoned government information center, or what humans referred to as the library.

Zim surveyed his surroundings. The room was covered in floor to ceiling mirrors, cracked with old age. He sighed at his reflection, honestly what was the point in trying to maintain a human disguise at this point. His wig was frayed and listed awkwardly to the left. His clothes hung wrong on him, ripped in several places. Somewhere along the way he had lost a contact and a long scratch stretched along his forehead. He examined the scratch which poured blue blood, even though it barely hurt. It dribbled down his cheek and then began to branch out into unnatural veins. The room produced its own maroon veins that spread across the reflective walls as Zim's reflection smiled demonically cracking the glass. Zim took a step back and staggered, his skin felt like it was on fire a searing pain which spread as rapidly as the bleeding walls. He quickly exited the room and slammed the door, taking deep breaths as the veins on his skin retreated from whence they came.

He stood on weak limbs, trying to ignore the moans that crawled through the halls. It appeared all the patients at this hospital had become trapped in this version of the town. Shot gun in hand, his boots clinked on the chain link floor as he carefully maneuvered around upended beds. Zim slowly approached the door to the waiting room with a tired sigh. He pushed against the door with all his might. It easily tipped over fell through a dark chasm to the basement into a twisted web of wires and tubing. It appeared the waiting room floor had collapsed in on itself. What remained of the tile clung to the edge of the wall, with barely enough space for a person to walk on. Chain link covered the wooden frame of the interior walls. He looked up to see carcasses that were permanently suspended in large cages. The room was completely still, too still for the world he was in.

"Wait a minute…" Zim said. Rusty PAK legs that had been reassembled with IV poles, old bed frames, and light fixtures shot out from the darkness. They clung to the chain link and old cages. A maddening laugh chased after the metal which hauled up its creator from the dark void.

"I found you." Tak grinned with what was left of her jaw. White bone shoved through the necrotic flesh. Her eyes pierced through black webs as she cackled. "You're not getting away this time!" Zim aimed the shot gun and pulled the trigger, a frantic clicking was all that came from the gun. "Looks like you're out of bullets Zim and out of time." Tak stalked forward.

"Stay away from me you mission stealing harlot!" Zim swung the gun hitting Tak square in the jaw her head snapped to the side leaving icor along the handle of the gun. Tak turned her body. Zim came face to face with a rusted PAK mere inches below her shoulder blades. She gripped her skull and twisted it, a sickening crack came from her neck as she set it in Zim's direction. He cringed gripping the barrel of the useless gun as a meager form of protection as she lunged forward. The sound of broken metal rang through the air.

She froze.

Zim opened his eyes to see sparks flying all around them. There was Tak staring at him a mere couple of inches from his face, listless and silent. In her hast to rid herself of the defective invader she had skewered her own PAK on the broken barrel of the shot gun. He let go of it and watched her plummet into the strange abyss. "…Another victory for the great and powerful ZIM!" He inched along the edge, wary of the hole below, and out of the godforsaken hospital.

Slamming the door shut he took stock of what was left, 6 bullets and one pistol.

"Next time I'll pick up one of those boxes of bullets lying around"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it, chapter 2 is done. So amused? Creeped out? Never returning? Don't forget this story will test your bravery by picking a number at the end of each chapter. Choose one for unfazed and four for terrified. At the end you add up the numbers and see which ending you get. Good luck and pleasant dreams.
> 
> 1*2*3*4


	3. Level 3: Barbed Wire

City hall was a network of buildings all on a wide city block. Some where here, Zim would be able to find the location of Professor Membrane's lab. Unfortunately Zim had approached from the end opposite the library. The moment Zim set foot on the block everything reverted back to a beak grey. It was useless to start questioning the town now. After all the normal, ashy mining town was welcome at any time unlike the other-side as Zim called it. He came up to a beat up sign, a you are here sticker next to the police station. He turned and entered the empty station. A note pad and pen lay on the counter, with the following text.

_Police Station 11:05PM_

_Fix Breaker Box_

_-Harry_

Zim blinked, and looked up at the dead cieling lights with a pinched frown. Fixing the lights would be a huge detour, but he refused to spend a moment longer in the darkness. He walked back outside and looped around the building.

Nothing.

There was no electrical equipment to be seen. It seemed nothing in this town would be easy. He supposed, the power might be linked to something more central in the lot. The largest building was obviously City Hall itself, which would be his best bet. The setting sun glinted off the lopsided sign winking at the lone being. He really didn't want to deal with any government human-monster beasties, but the only alternative was darkness.

With a deep breath Zim opened the door. Somewhere inside the labyrinth of halls and doorways was the breaker box for all of the buildings.The darkness enveloped the Irken, leaving the building's appearance to the imagination. Occasionally the floor could be seen by the flickering lights struggling to illuminate the hall. If this place was running on a back-up generator, he must be getting close.

It would be easier to just turn around and leave, forget about Dib, go back to the restaurant. He and Gir could hitchhike home, it wouldn't have been the first time. That would be nice, but the idea of leaving his archnemisis alone in a place like this was disturbing. What if the boy fell victim to the same ailment that claimed the inhabitants of this town. Would he still be as fervent in pursuing Zim as a mutated monster? A shudder crawled down Zim's back; no, he couldn't leave Dib here. He would, however, bring the boy back and humiliate him a few hundred times for all the horror he had to swim through. Yes, an excellent plan indeed. He stopped, pulling away from his thoughts to register what was in front of him.

Caution tape hung limply in the archway of a set of stairs. 'Do Not Enter' was written in faded letters. Regardless of the warning, Zim ducked under the yellow barrier with pistol in hand. He walked through the now open thresh hold and took a step into the framed labyrinth. Pictures of all shapes and sizes covered the twisting pathway. Barbed wire held back the moaning drawings of horses and aristocrats, their pain forever frozen in time. At the end of the hall a little girl stood gently swaying back and forth.

"Would you like to buy a Ninja Star Cookie?" The girl whispered. It was too dark to make out any distinguishing features on the girl.

"Leave Zim alone filthy creature!"

"Would you like to buy a Ninja Star Cookie?" The girl asked again.

"Are you even listening to me?" Zim shouted. He blinked and the small child was right in front of him.

"Would you like to buy a Ninja Star Cookie?" A gaunt little thing in a dingy uniform offered up a cigarette box with 'treat' written across it. The guerilla sales tactics of the Ninja Star girls were no stranger to Zim, but this one was eerily calm. 

"No, now get away from Zim!" She opened the box that held a slice of ham writing with maggots.

"But they're really tasty." The scout grinned, nails digging into the soggy box. In a flash Zim pulled out his pistol and shot the girl, she fell to the ground clutching her shoulder whimpering in pain. "Momma!" The girl wailed, "Mommy!" Zim's eyes widened at the child, who was obviously not the true monster he thought she was. The pictures bent into scowl like shapes. Zim shook his head, it couldn't be true, it just couldn't. That girl was a monster wasn't she? "Mommy I'm scared!" A roar echoed from the lower floor.

Zim ran for the stairs to the third floor. He wasn't going to stick around for whatever the little girl had summoned.

* * *

In order to get to the last room in the building, Zim had to cross an office floor. The only problem was, there had obviously been a leak in the building. Water trickled down the wall in molded rivulets, drowning the floor in a waste high flood. It had been days since he last applied a layer of paste to protect him from Earth's acidic water. The thought of willingly inflicting pain on himself in order to find Dib made him nauseous.

Our protagonist stood frozen at the display in front of him, the reflection of the florescent light danced along the water's surface. Cool shivers brushed down his skin as the humid air began to mask the invader in a numb sense of limbo. The electric light faded in and out, popping with indignation as the backup power supply threatened to run dry. At the end of this looming hall way was a giant steel door. Through the small window, he could make out a tree of electrical wires. All he had to do was enter that room, but the hall seemed to stretch for miles. The faint whimpers of the girl below called at his back, followed by another low roar. As he looked for another way to avoid touching the ground, but the room had been cleared of all furniture. Zim took a tentative step forward allowing the liquid to lap at his boots.

It burned.

The water sizzled as it tried to tear its way through the foreign cloth. He took a deep breath and ran, the clear substance rippling around him as he reached the steel door. It was locked. Zim pounded on the metal with a scream, as the water burned and sizzled around his legs.

The alarm rang. Slowly the water drained from the room and Zim collapsed onto dry land. His lungs ached as he trembled on all fours. It would take a while for his skin to grow back, and the process felt akin to needles emerging from the muscles. His wounds grew taunt and tender, making it hard to move. He looked up as the bolts on the door unhinged themselves. Slowly it opened inward and Zim struggled to stand. He would not let any human see him in such a humiliating state.

"I've been expecting you." A hoarse voice chided.

The office before him looked more like an old basement held together by brittle wood. It appeared empty, but Zim knew something was in there. A solitary light hung from the ceiling illuminating the small room which held a desk and on the far wall a breaker box tangled in branching wires. A long, gnarled hand came up from behind the desk followed by another.

"Rumor has it that you can help us." The mayor snickered. "I might even see if I could negotiate a deal." Zim scoured the room for the rest of the mayor, but only his hands were in view

"A deal?" Zim scoffed. "Zim doesn't make deals with humans! You will give me the location of the science beast and his infuriating son. There will be no questions!" He pointed his gun at the creatures left hand, though he had no way of telling if it felt threatened. "Release the Dib and I will finally go home!"

"Too bad. I could have shown you a way out." A low grumble echoed through the room. "But now you made me miss my delivery of Ninja Star Cookies." The mayor pulled himself up onto the desk. Though the arms appeared normal, it was clear they grew in backwards. The mayor's head and torso faced the ceiling as he crawled forward in a misshapen crab walk. Slowly his head turned so it faced up right, revealing his missing jaw that allowed his long fat tongue that swayed as he spoke. "Now I'll have to settle for something thinner, more green." The lengthy appendage coated his upper lip in saliva, a bottomless grin spread across his face.

"You… you can't eat Zim!" He aimed his pistol at he monster, only to find it water logged. "You don't even have all you teeth." Zim cringed, no matter how many times he pulled the trigger, it would only click impotently.

"Oh that's not a problem," he snapped his fingers and two metal plates slammed into each other behind him a rhythmic motion just in front of the breaker box. Zim turned, and found the back wall was a series of sharpened metal gears, grinding together in front of Zim's only exit. The mayor advanced on Zim trying to corner him into the elaborate meat tenderizer. "A few seconds in my little toy and you'll be nice and easy to eat." He chuckled darkly. "Looking for this?" The mayor snickered holding the pistol in the air; he casually tossed it into the metal death trap. "Oops, clumsy me." Zim watched with muted horror as his useless weapon was ground into bits.

He cackled at the invader who now had his back to the slamming metal plates. "Now you're defenseless." The mayor tongue shot toward Zim when the alien ducked, causing the it to get trapped between the gears. The grinder pulled him inch by inch toward the mechanism, his unhinged screams garbled by the wet sound of pulverized meat.

"Not quite." Zim maneuvered himself behind the mayor, and shoved him face first into the grinder. The politician scrambled to get away, but Zim already had the upper hand. Bathed in a spray of blood, Zim waited until the Major was reduced to two detached legs before he let go. Whipping off his face, Zim watched mayor's remains crunched and squelch between the gears. Finally the mechanism powered down and pulled apart trailing the dead politician to either side of the room. Zim carefully stepped over the large red streak. He opened the box and flicked the main switch giving power to the rest of the city block.

* * *

Exiting the City Hall building had proved to be easier, but more grotesque. Zim wasn't comfortable enough to survey the landscape for too long. He passed pavilions half emerged in the dry land, like the Earth was trying to claim the buildings as sustenance. Grass weakly clung to the Earth in a vain attempt of life. The rough clack of the trains leaving a nearby station filled the still air. On the other side the library settled firmly in place, the concrete walls guarding whatever lay inside. Zim took a deep breath than pushed into the empty hall.

The library was hardly that empty shelves sat in the one solitary room. A handful of books lay chained to a rusting table and a broken down desk humbly sat in the front of the room with a handful of pens and maps lay scattered on the top. Zim eased toward the desk and grabbed one of the maps, then looked back at the door. Even if he was on the other-side, this room seemed fairly deserted.

He couldn't remember the last time he slept, and while an invader was trained for such harsh conditions, Zim didn't know what he'd do if he had to face another monster. With the last of his strength, Zim dragged a shelf and barricaded the door shut. After thoroughly checking the room, Zim settled under the desk and hunkered down. The alarm would ring again eventually, and then he would resume his search. Until then, he would take advantage of the peace and let sleep claim him for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliff Hanger! Du-du-da-da! Write down the number you believe this chapter is using one for not scary and four for terrified keep track of the numbers throughout the story, the number that comes up the most will determine your ending.  
> 1*2*3*4


	4. Level 4: Crow Bar

When Zim woke up he was on the floor of a normal library, thankful nothing had tried to break into his sanctuary at a time where he was vulnerable. He hated feeling so pitiful. Invader training had prepared him for hostile environments, but it was with the assumption he'd be able to access his built in arsenal. To be woefully defenseless for so long was unheard of. What would his leaders think of him now? He crawled out from under the desk, hissing at how the dried blood made his uniform crunch when he moved.

Other than being unnaturally dark, the library was nothing special, just an ordinary building. He left the building and paused. Ash fell at a steady pace in the moon light, it was almost beautiful in a way, much less harmful than Earth's snow. A small sigh escaped his lips as he looked over the map, it would take forever to get to the lab on foot. By then, Dib could be taken to a new location.

He could hear in the distance, the bleating of the machines as they pounded the rails. It seemed, even if the town proper was abandoned, something still needed supplies. According to the map, there was a circuit of freight trains tracks wrapping around the town. It would be the easiest way to get to the lab before sunrise. He followed the sound through the silent down-pour until the paved roads gave way to broken rubble cast about the woods. 

The train yard suffered from neglect after the humans went into hiding. Pieces of the track lay amongst the rocks only to be trapped under over-turned fright cars. Lopsided crates full of forgotten inventions towered over the alien in precarious stacks. It wasn't a very friendly looking place and definitely not where you want to be unarmed. There was a steady, gentle clacking that voiced a train was coming into the yard. The invader rushed, if he missed this train who knew when the next one would come? In his haste Zim tripped over a tin metal object.

"Ow!" Zim cried, "Who dares trip Zim!" He whipped around to find a crow bar sticking out of the gravel. He snatched it up and ran. The train rolled into the yard and slowed to a stop, automated by a foreign hand. He climbed into the empty car and sat down on the dusty wooden floor. The train lurched forward and began to move. The moon light flickered past the many buildings making the shadows scatter across the car. He looked out over the city through ashen streaks as the train pulled further into the night.

A day had passed since the crash and he was still looking for Dib. He supposed he could have gotten out of town by now and found a city, probably one that held his base. Yet he found himself on a train to some human lab in a vain hope that Dib would be there. Before he convinced himself that it was all so he could force the boy to take him home and make him his slave, but now? Now he was beginning to question why he was really searching for his enemy.

* * *

On the outside, the genetics lab could have been mistaken for any old suburban home. Zim's own base was more scientific than this humble dwelling. He tentatively turned the knob and opened the front door. A brilliant, white light attacked his retinas; he stood in the doorway useless for a few seconds as his eyes adjusted. The first thing he noticed was the many bullet holes along the walls. Broken glass soiled the otherwise sterile room. Papers were thrown about and computers blinked error messages to the empty office. He walked carefully through the destroyed front, avoiding injury at all costs.

  
"Hello?" He called into the room, "Is anyone here?" There was a shuffle in the back of the room as a lab assistant came out from behind one of the desks a revolver clutched in his hand. Of course he had to run into a normal human, just when his human disguise was at it's most pitiful.

"N-no." He stuttered. At least the boy was sentient, that was more than could be said of the last few 'people' Zim had stumbled across. Nonetheless, he wasn't here for some nameless assistant.

"Sniveling human, I'm looking for-" He was interrupted by a click from the gun's barrel.

"I said no one's here!" 

"…but you're here." Zim pointed at the human in confusion.

"No I'm not, on one's here. So get out of here and tell your monster friends to leave this lab alone." Zim groaned in frustration, typical stupid creature, not even aware of his own existence. He hardly felt threatened by a service drone that couldn't hold his own weapon steady.

"Zim is no monster you pathetic meat sack!" Yes, he felt disgusting and he'd given up on wearing his nappy wig, but there were far more disgusting creatures masquerading as Earth creatures outside. "You dare mock a child with an illness?"

"That's just what a monster would say!" The technician cried.

"Are you completely-"

"I SAID GO AWAY!" His eyes were shut tight. When he fired his gun, he had missed Zim by a good yard. How foolish of him to forget how dangerous 'normal' humans could be.

"You dare fire your weapon at Zim!?" Another round was shot. Without any other options Zim ran past the boy, deeper into the home.

"That's a restricted area you demon!" The panic ridden human called, firing blindly after the alien. Zim ran down a blank hallway lined with white doors, each sporting a plexiglass window out. Only numbers designated what was inside, though to the alien, they may have well been blank. With an irrational human on his tail, he didn't have much time to think. He opened the nearest door and slammed it shut, letting the human rush past him. "I'll find you yet you little mutant!" Zim took a deep breath, waiting for a few minutes before tearing away from the window. 

He appeared to be in a study of some sort, surprisingly old fashioned, like a photo from a children's book. A roaring hearth illuminated a small tea table and the pin-boards that lined the walls. Red strings connected various writings in a chaotic web. On the far left, Zim spotted a familiar face.

"Dib?" Dib's picture was one of many framed family photos buried under articles and furiously written sheets of paper. One sheet fell from the pin board. Zim tried his best to read between the red smears covered the paper.

_I have tried many times to cure my son of his insane delusions. So far nothing has produced results. All of my efforts seem to increase his obsession with the imaginary world. It won't be long before his ramblings will be taken seriously through the power of suggestion. In a desperate act, I tried to remove all things that would remind him of his own insanity. A cleansing of sorts. I was so close to curing him. Yet something has triggered a relapse of sorts, and now he refuses to take any more steps forward. I can no longer passively allow this to continue. The only option left is to~_

_-Professor Membrane_

Zim squinted at the last few words which had been covered by one of the red smudges. Membrane had written it with blood on his hands… He searched the room for a hint, a minuscule clue of where to go next. On a chair 'help' was written on the sear cushion. The blood was still fresh; he couldn't have gotten too far from the room.

"Come out, come out where ever you are!" His human pursuer outside shouted. Didn't humans ever give up? "W-When I get my- AAAAAAGH!" There was a crunch, a small clack as the gun fell to the ground and then a long eerie silence.

* * *

He didn't know how long he stayed in the research room before he left. All he knew was that he didn't want to find out what caused the lab assistant to fall silent. Unfortunately he had to leave; Dib was somewhere out there waiting for the amazing Zim to rescue him. He opened the door to the green tinted hallway. The lab assistant lay on the ground, a broken frame on his head, just at the end of the hall. Zim stepped over the limp body and continued to the main lab.

He was immediately surrounded by wall to wall machines framing large tanks of brining solution; each contributing to an aurora of greens and blues that decorated the ceiling. As he came closer, he found test tubes that held a variety of bubbling liquids. Zim gripped his crow bar as he approached the largest tank. Dismembered body parts bobbed to the surface at a steady rate around a suffering silhouette.

One of the eyes blinked and focused on Zim. Startled, he stepped back to see a mangled animal begging for fresh food. At one time it had been a dolphin, until the scientists had gotten to it. They had ripped the skin off of it and inverted the bend of it's spine. Striped of it's fins, it was made move on metal legs through the water. It sought after Zim with renewed hunger and slammed against the glass in an effort to reach the alien.

"Isn't-it-bizarre?" Three voices called, each taking a turn to speak. "The-firm-found it-in-the sewer."

"Who are you?" Zim called into the darkness. Nothing appeared to be jumping out of the shadows at him, and the hum of the tank made it hard to pick out any footsteps.

"My-name-is Dr.-Noital."

"Show yourself humans." Zim brandished his crow bar. He never really was fond of close rang weapons, but it was all he had now.

"Certainly,-though-I warn-you-I am-only-one human." A scientist stepped forward in a large white coat. One wide body held three human heads on it's shoulders. There was no overt signs of decay or gore, as if the human had been born this way. When it talked each head said a word. "Who-are-you."

"Why should Zim tell you?"

"Zim-hunh?" Each head frowned. "Why-are-you here?"

"I'm looking for professor Membrane." Zim said.

"He-is-not here." The creature said in tired tones.

"Do you know where he is?" Zim growled. The last thing he wanted to do was keep wandering around aimlessly. The minute he left this place, he had to remember to blast with his voot cruiser. 

"He-has-gone to-his-hotel."

"Thank you." He replied through gritted teeth and turned to the leave. The scientist laid a cold, clammy hand on Zim's shoulder.

"Why-do-you need-to-know?" Zim slapped the offending hand off him and refused to answer. He didn't owe this creature any more of his precious time. "I'm-afraid-I can-not-let you-leave. You-have-seen too-much."

"Oh yeah, try and stop me!" Metal doors fell into the doorway. "Nice try."

"Now-you-will face-my-true power!" The scientist laughed bristly hair growing form his upper lips at an alarming rate. "Tremble-before-my true-form."

"Give me a break!" Zim yelled, "Mustaches, really? Your human assistant was much more frightening!" Zim lifted his crow bar high above his head. "Your nightmare world can't hurt me now." The hard metal collided with the first head creating a nose deep depression in the skull. Zim's laughter rang through the lab as the man made the monster writhe. Each head caved in like an old Jack-o-lantern under Zim's weapon. He crossed over the twitching body to the note bored. A sticky not on the wall was scrawled in blood.

_La Quinta Inn, room #1408_

Zim grinned crumpling the paper. "Dib-thing, I hope you're not terribly attached to that parental unit of yours."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well another chapter has come and gone. Kind of short compared to the others. Hope you enjoyed it. I like reading your reviews at obscene times of the day. Remember one for passive four for terror. Choose wisely.  
> 1*2*3*4


	5. Level 5: Meat Cleaver

The alarm was still ringing in Zim's head long after the siren had ceased. Red once more painted the streets that lead up to the La Quinta Inn. Rust coated the iron skeleton that held up the entryway. Inconsistently pitched mariachi music blasted from the broken speakers to lure in new customers. The building stood fifteen stories tall surrounded by a small moat of fallen bricks.

Zim opened the door, a torn Victorian rug at his feet. The elegant wallpaper and mahogany furniture were tainted by the corrosive world. Everything had been lashed at, a foreboding scene for the rest of the building. Abused furniture sat around an empty hearth that spewed smoke in at a rhythmic pace. Skinned rats scurried along the floor, paying the invader little mind as he made his way to the front desk. Behind the desk was a desk chair suspended in the air, quietly emitting a chattering sound. A row of keys hung on rusted hooks along the back wall, occasionally getting rearranged by some unseen creature.

Zim carefully crawled over the desk. One of those keys had to go to the room he needed. With the constant shuffling, it was hard to keep track of which key belonged to which room. He held is breath and waited for the key he needed to fall within reach. As soon as he touched one of the brass keys, sorting stopped. He froze, hoping he hadn't alerted the creature to any perceived threat.

A giant metal contraption rotated above his head, causing the desk chair to turn his way. In it a woman's corpse sat. She couldn't have been dead longer than a week, thought it looked like she had been chain to the contraption for longer. The flesh around the bindings had worn down and fused with the metal. Her eyes and skin had been picked over by scavengers who avoided the fecal matter that fused her legs to the chair. Stiff and lifeless, the contraption operated her body like a marionette. He couldn't tell how it was watching him.

She hit a paper on her desk, the fibers sticking to her hand, and shoved it in the direction of his face. He had to peal the application form from her limb. "…eww." The puppeted corpse held out a hand expecting payment. Zim panicked unsure of what to hand the dead human in exchange for safe passage. He reached up to his left eye and pulled out his remaining contact and placed it in her hand. Rats scurried up along her arm, fighting tooth and nail for a taste. Once it was gone, the human nodded and turned back to whatever the contraption forced her to do. He crept back around the desk and into the kitchen.

Brown sludge bubbled over in the stew pot that sat on a burning gas stove. The kitchen itself looked like it hadn't been cleaned for 60 years. One would wonder how the old kitchen hadn't caught fire in the sheer amount of food decomposing food that lay on the counters. Above on a chandelier, many sharp implements hung just out of reach, but Zim needed a proper weapon. He climbed up onto the cluttered counter top, reaching for the longest blade that brushed his finger tips. Zim gripped the blunt end of the blade and pulled, flinging the other blades about the floor, a meat cleaver now in his possession.

* * *

Zim pushed a dining cart along the hall of the 14th floor, smitten with the sheer genius of his plan. The cart jostled over the warped boards, spilling rotten food onto the moth-eaten runner. Everything was going according to plan until something bit his ankle.

"What! Who dares bite Zim!" He looked down at the large pincers that held his foot hostage. Rippling, greasy scales formed the body of a foot long roach. "What the- Get off of Zim!" He kicked the large beast off his leg, then brought down the large knife he had, cutting it off the head. He chuckled at the bug as it ran around blindly without its head before it collapsed. Yet it still sounded like the roach was scurrying around. He slowly looked up from his kill, hundreds of foot long beasts covered the walls disguising the hall in a rippling, hissing tide. "That's… not good." He snatched up the meat cleaver and ran down the hall, the tide of roaches following close behind. Door numbers flashed past 14, 12, 10, 8, 6- wait, he needed 1408. "Room service!" He called, slamming the cart into the door. "Behold Zim brings snacks, bow to Zim's great snack bringing self!" The door swung shut behind him, leaving the invader in the hotel room, alone. "Hello?" The T.V. sprayed static light on the barren furniture of the hotel room. "Is anyone here?"

"Hey!" Dib's voice called.

"Dib-thing! Finally you show your inferior self when I-"

"I knew you were up to something! What's the plan this time, demon ducks?" Zim turned to see the T.V. playing a program from a hand-held camera. It was one of Dib's failed attempts to catch video proof of the alien out of his disguise. He was certain he had destroyed that camera along with the tape that had been made. 

"Now, you couldn't possibly understand my genius Dib." The recording stated proudly, hiding a collection of rubber ducks behind him. "My plan is far too complex for your feeble mind to comprehend." He looked closer at the T.V. It was definitely him standing in the film, but something was wrong. On the film he was in disguise, but this was shot in deep within his base, and he clearly remembered being out of disguise.

"You're going to use that weapon behind your back." Dib sighed, clearly able to spot the freeze ray Zim later used on the camera.

"…You're lying!" Zim squacked.

"Whatever it is I will stop you!" The angle of the film jostled as the camera fell to the ground.

"You can't stop me. I. AM.~" The video cut back to static, ejecting the tape. On the tape was a faded sticky note scrawled on with a bleeding pen.

_Dad,_

_Dib ran out looking for someone, said something about the mall. Seeing as he's gone I don't have to watch him anymore. I'll be at the carnival tonight, so don't expect me to be home._

_-Gaz_

"Great, just great!" Zim ranted. "Another marvelous plan failed by the Dib and his stupid walking hands. Doesn't he know you stay put when you're lost? Why on Earth would he leave?" He opened the door to the room an left. Unaware that there was another note on the front door that had hand writing similar to his on it.

_Dib_

_Meet me at the human shopping place if you want to leave with me._

_-Zim_

Zim grumbled as he snuck out of the hotel room, stupid Dib and his stupid ideas. He was racking up quite a debt, a month of servitude for every hour Zim spent looking for him. He went down the hand operated elevator. This mall better be the last place he has to look, or a lot of almost-humans were going to be sliced in half. The elevator door swung open on the main floor.

"Master!" A metallic voice called.

"Gir, what are you doing here?" Zim rushed to the robot, who was in serious disrepair. He joints were soaked in rust, his eyes cracked, even some of his bolts were missing. "What happened? I thought I told you to stay at the restaurant." The little robot wrapped his legs in a weak hug, burying his face in the invader's knees. It couldn't have been that long since he'd seen his minion. Had the cursed town got to him too?

"Master, we can't stay here!" The robot whimpered.

"I know that GIR, that's why I have to find the Dib." The robot tugged at the hem of his shirt, trying to pull him toward the exit.

"B-but we gots to get home now, there's muffins in the oven and I bet they miss me." Neither of them had the capacity for long distance travel anymore, and none of the trains could leave the town. As much as Zim wanted to return to his base, he wasn't sure how he'd be able to do it undisguised without Dib.

"This is a little more important than your muffins Gir."

"Nu-uh. Muffins are my life!" The robot pouted.

"Is this why you're here Gir? Muffins?" He shook his head.

"Goodness no!" Gir giggled, "I founded something!"

"What did you find Gir?"

"This place is not what it seems. It's actually-" Long, sticky, black claws wrapped around Gir's head. "Uh-oh. Looks like the fat lady's gonna' sing." The hand contracted, crushing the metal structure. All of Gir's blue lights flickered and darkened. 

There was a rhythm that Zim had begun to follow; grip weapon, study the monster, attack, repeat. This was no difference. The claws that had crushed his robot was attached to a cloaked figure. The only thing that didn't blend with his clothes were it's bulging, milky white eyes. Or at least Zim assume it was a he, these things were hard to tell and not worth Zim's time anymore. The monster towered over Zim and the robot fell in a motionless heap on the floor.

"Alien." It hissed.

"Where?" Zim bluffed on reflex, feigning ignorance. "You sure it wasn't a monster, there are quiet a few of them running around here-"

"Alien." It hissed again pointing at Zim.

"Me? Why don't be ridiculous. You can't go around- ZIM IS HUMAN YOU ANTI-ALBINO!" The creature narrowed his eyes at Zim who was preparing to strike with the meat cleaver.

"Ali-" The creature's head slid off its body rolling to the floor. The cloak fell to the ground, smoke pouring out each hole.

"Alien." A hushed whisper came.

"W-what?" The shadows on the wall dripped more of the creatures on the floor. From the hearth another five or six crawled out of the smoke and advanced toward him at a sickeningly slow pace.

"Alien." They chanted as they creeped forward. "Alien... Alien... Alien..." All of them pointed at him, trapping him in their unblinking stares.

"Wh-What are you doing? Get away from Zim!" He swung the cleaver wildly about to intimidate them. No madder, they came all the same.

"Alien. Alien. Alien." There seemed to be no stopping the swarm of shadows. Claws reaching for his neck.

"GET AWAY FROM ZIM!" He screamed, his eyes clenched shut. There was a long pause. When Zim opened his eyes he was in an ordinary lobby. "How did I…?" He looked around once more, no further in his explanation then when it first began. A light breeze hit his neck as he looked down. The collar of his shirt laying limp on the floor. One thing was for sure, if one of the creatures here got to him, it was game over.

He turned to where his robot companion lay, and immediately tried to salvage the poor thing. It's limbs fell off, and one eye dangled from the socket by a set of corroded wires. The inside of his head had been consumed by rust, making it impossible to remove any parts without them breaking. The only piece he could save was a small memory chip. Zim clutched it protectively and slipped it into his pocket, hoping it would be enough to save his Sir unit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, we've already gotten to Chapter 5. So how are you doing so far? Mostly ones, any fours? You know the drill, pick a number, write it down an I'll see you in the next chapter.  
> 1*2*3*4


	6. Level 6: Baseball Bat

After exiting the lab Zim looked at his map. He could've taken the nice safe path of sidewalks and demon dogs, but then again who had time to sight see? So that left one not so beeline through the park to the mall. There, he would force the Dib to take him home ending this nightmare once and for all. He pushed through the thick underbrush to the park. The air in the woods was especially dry, as if the trees could light fire at any moment. The fallen leaves crunched beneath Zim's feet as he made his way onto the center path of the park,

Even in the middle of the day, the ashen clouds made it look like dawn. The wind pushed the empty equipment, shedding layers of ash which melted into the ground. Small creeks and cries were uttered from the old metal. Zim walked slowly through the grass, a permanent sense of unease had set its self into Zim's being. He walked over to the discolored slide, a subtle shimmer illuminated the metal. He examined the length of the equipment closely. Fresh blood trickled down the child's play thing.

"How…?" Zim mumbled as the blood pooled at the bottom of the slide. A hideously hungry growl came from the top of the sloping metal. Dull claws dented the slide as it lurched; fresh blood still coated its fur. Zim stood frozen, innerly begging the beast to leave. It leaned closer and sniffed, a soft jangling came from its neck. On a red collar 'Woozly' was carved. Zim took a few tentative steps backwards looking for an escape from the creature. Unfortunately those steps were enough to set off the beast.

Zim wielded his blade with an unsteady hand, slicing down the wolf-things face from eye to lip. As soon as the meat cleaver hit bone, it stop, lodged in the creatures' skull. The beast roared in pain, more determined than ever to get a bite at fresh prey. Zim slammed his foot on it's shoulder, pulling with all his might, but to no avail. The alien stumbled away from gnashing teeth and scrambled to find his original destination. Zim dashed away from the beast, there was no way he could stop it with the chipped meat cleaver he held. The fur covered psychopath continued his pursuit, as Zim made his way through the trees.

The mall was only a few yards away, if he could just make it there. The beast pounced, its massive paws knocked Zim down onto the hard concrete. A burning sensation ripped through his arm as rows of wet fangs tore into his arm. The creature above him sputtered; disgusted by the alien blood that now invaded his taste buds. It smacked Zim away with a clawed fist and ran off leaving Zim gasping for air on the ground. The automatic doors of the mall slid open. Soft, cool air blew over Zim, the breeze biting at his wounds. A high pierced alarm rang through the air as the invader struggled to stand.

* * *

He stumbled through the automatic doors, a bizarre display in front of him. Granted the main building was covered in rust and splintered wood like all the other buildings. It was the shops that stunned him. Half eaten plants made up the signs and covered the furniture. Roots stretched across the floor and burrowed into the tile. Above him massive colonies of the bird creatures nested in peaceful slumber. Their droppings marred the floor like a bloody Jackson Pollock.

There was little time to gawk about. He was losing blood by the second. Zim felt a chill from his arm up to his temples. His vision on his right side grew spotty and white, as a piercing ringing noise grew steadily louder with each passing second. Taking slow deliberate breaths, he tried to think how to stop the wound without using his soiled uniform.

A quick glance around the store front and he rushed to the first display he could lean on. A half open energy drink lay on the counter of the sporting goods store. He hurriedly grabbed it, chugging the bitter liquid. It wasn't much but it would help dull the pain until he could get home. Zim took deep breaths, calming himself as he sorted out what he was going to do as he bound his wound with a stained piece of under armor. He glanced up at the escalator a dark figure exited at the top.

"Dib?" The figure glanced over his shoulder and looked directly at Zim. "Dib!" The human limped down the stairs, making his way to the ground floor as quickly as he could.

"Zim!? Where have you been!" He cried. "Everyone told me you were gone, I thought you left me here!" Never before had the invader been so happy to see the human. Exhaustion and relief hit the invader all at once. Then something grabbed Dib from behind and pulled him into the shadows.

"Nooooooooooo!"

In spite of his fatigue, Zim got up and ran to the escalator. As he climbed he could hear masticating coming from the floor above. A sickening crunch followed. When Zim reached the top a gruesome sight assaulted his eyes. There was a long haired woman was crouching over a gutted pile of bones. Her oversized jersey covered most her being. Even through the long black tendrils he could see the fresh blood that covered her face. She licked her chapped lips and moved on to her bright red arms. The veins underneath the translucent skin pulsated as he advanced.

"Where is he?" Zim growled at the half human beast. It hissed at him, preparing to advance. "You evil hell spawn! How dare you~ how~ Give Zim back his enemy!" The 'woman' began to crawl at a shocking speed towards the alien only to be evaded. Zim rushed back to the sports store in search of a weapon. He snatched up a metal bat and turned. The metal gleamed dimly in the tinted light, a chilling hiss leaped ahead of its owner. Cold steel collided with fragile skin, breaking the spinal cord. The curtained monster sputtered, a speckled, hot liquid bubbled out of her mouth, painting the floor black and red. "Give him back." He whispered, falling to the floor. It wasn't fair, he hadn't come this far to lose his SIR unit, and lose Dib to some mindless beast. A hollow cackle echoed through the halls of the mall.

"Aww, poor little Zimmy." It rasped, Zim looked around shocked. The voice echoed throughout the mall, disturbing some of the birds.

"Who dares laugh at Zim!"

"Is that how you deal with grief Zim?" It hacked, "Denial, pride? They're poison Zim. I should know." His voice came from every root and leaf that threatened to consume the mall.

"Go ahead, try and kill Zim." He said. "I highly doubt you can surpass my superior training."

"And then what!" It shouted. "Return home to an empty base? Twiddle your alien thumbs until the next distraction comes along!"

"ZIM IS NORMAL!" Zim proclaimed. "Show yourself so I can have the pleasure of shattering your brains on the floor next to the she beast!" The roots buried deep within the ground, trying to hide from the invader.

"You can try, but don't you want to know where your precious enemy is?" It's voice was louder from the left, if Zim could just pin down where exactly.

"What kind of trickery is this?" Zim faltered.

"Your little friend on the floor was snacking on a stray cat; your enemy however, was carted off somewhere else."

"Where!" Zim growled, stalking toward the source of the voice. In the shadows a young man sat against the wall.

"Why would you care? Just look at you. Even if you did find him you'd probably die if not by his hands then the wound on your arm." He shook his head. "That's what happens here. You make one mistake and suddenly you get consumed by it. It is surprising how long you've managed to last here."

"You know nothing." Zim hissed, brandishing his bat at the shadows.

"I know enough," The voice rasped, "I know you've been abandoned by your leaders and now you uselessly pursue someone you know hates you." The receding roots wrapped around the man's legs and back, lifting him up to stand. "You've never done a single thing successfully in your life."

"You're lying." The thing came into light, it was the old school counselor. He bent down with skin pasty white; a black substance clung to his mouth obstructing his speech. Blinking was futile, for a green fungus had grown over his eyes, rendering him blind. Yet he knew where Zim was and claimed to see Dib get kidnapped. "S-stay away from Zim and tell me where the Dib went."

"I don't know. He doesn't want me anymore... You see, this is where he drops off things to forget." Dwicky reached for Zim, his fingers consumed by rot in a stage so far that it barely clung to the bone. "It's not so bad once you've accepted it. Stay here insane child, you'll be happier." The counselor shuffled forward slowly, pulling the roots with him and breaking the wall behind him. He had become part of the structure itself.

"No! Tell Zim where I can find him!" Zim yelled, brandishing his bat.

"I am not her brother's keeper~ Only she holds the key~" He coughed, crouching into a fetal position on his knees.

"No!" Zim shouted as he watched the counselor's life fade before him. "No! No! No! It's not fair!" He glared at the still body below him. "I'm the only killer in this world." The walls wept as shadows of Zim's frightening actions danced on them. His bat colliding several times into the sagging bag of flesh, fruitlessly trying to make an impact on the still body. Zim finally stood wiping the molded residue of the counselor's gray matter off his weapon. "Make no mistake, the Dib will be mine." He turned and left for the carnival where Gaz had said she'd be, a manic grin on his face. "Alive or dead."

**If you chose 4 here or in any of the previous chapters here is your painfully brief bonus ending. Feel free to continue with the story if you so wish.**

Zim grabbed his arm, and cringed in pain. He struggled to continue out the door, but the blood seeped through his tourniquet and down his arm. The ringing was growing louder and his could feel the chill as the blood fled to the pavement below his feet. Each step was more unsteady than the last. He was so tired. Tired of chasing after a human that refused to stay put. He fell to his knees, have to think when his next breath should be. Gradually the world around him faded in a blizzard of fallen ash.

* * *

The Paranormal investigator raised himself from the rubble of the bus. His classmates around him groaned uselessly and he knew as soon as they woke up, the whole class would be in a panic. He held his head in his hand, ready for the impending migraine.

"Zim? Zim, say something." Dib turned and looked at the alien limp on the ground, mumbling faintly as blue blood oozed out of a gaping wound in his chest. One of the windows had shattered during the crash and a shard of glass had lodged itself in his chest. Another pinned his arm into the set cushion above his head.

Dib sat there a while in shock, if he didn't do something soon Zim wouldn't survive.

He pressed down on the glass with his bare hand, the shard burying itself deeper into Zim's chest and digging into his own skin. The alien sputtered, for a brief moment his eyes flew open, only to lose focus on the human in an instant. Red mixed with blue in a masochistic display. Dib smiled, a small chuckle fighting it's way to the surface. Even if the cause of death was obvious, the color of his blood would arouse suspicion. Soon the alien would need an autopsy to find the cause of death, and Dib would be in the front row seat, a permanent grin plastered on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Zim, this place is really screwing with his head. Well what do you think? A one? A four? A blend between two numbers? Just keep in mind these numbers will determine your ending, choose wisely and hope that at the end of this, you would survive in Zim's situation.  
> 1*2*3*4  
> 


	7. Level 7: Mallet

Evening fell once more on the small mining town. Zim walked to the edge of the forest. The bare branches mocked him as they crossed in front of his path. The carnival was somewhere inside the dry woods. The bat hung limp in his hand. He had gone two whole days with minimal sleep and it was starting to take its toll. Examining the way the branches twisted downward to the ground he sighed. The fair grounds were deep in the woods, far removed from the rest of the town. However, the surrounding trees made it hard to spot enemies coming from a distance and the thick fog wasn't helping either. Still, if he was to enlist the help of Dib's terrifying sister, he had to go in. 

He continued to stare at the leafless trees, probably the safest place to take a rest. No immediate foot holes came out. Eventually he reached up with his good arm and grabbed a branch. Leisurely he pulled himself up and shimmied past the first few branches. A yawn escaped from his lips as he pulled himself close to the trunk, hoping the shadows would provide him with enough cover. His eye lids felt heavy. He felt the bat drop and fall to the ground, too tired to hold on.

* * *

He woke up to a bright happy tune that busted through the silence of the forest. Zim lifted his face off of the soft grass and took note of the sudden change in his surroundings. He had fallen in his sleep and landed with hardly a scratch. The trees were tall and green. A foul stench filled the air soaked into the surrounding plant life. A small river ran beside him, the water a cloudy brown, leaves from the trees floated through the river. An owl fought to call over the jovial tune to the other inhabitants. A gentle breeze danced through the plethora of trees. The moonlit sky could be seen through the canopy. The ash continued to fall at a steady rate collecting on the tree branches. A loud crash, like the sound of thunder was heard in the distance.

He sat up straight and felt around for the bat, all he could feel was grass. The bat was gone; it must have been left in the other world. Standing up he looked in the direction of the music. A branch creaked behind him and crashed to the forest floor, broken due to the weight of the ash Zim ran forward startled by the loud noise. He had to find a clearing or one of the branches might collapse above him. He broke through the trees to a clearing. Lights of every shape and color danced around, rides entertained the empty fair. Tasty treats were prominently displayed, begging to be bought or won. It's worn appearance of the carnival games gave off a heartwarming aura. Zim looked around rooted to the spot. The fair was huge, how would he find Gaz? A low grunt came from behind; Zim turned and craned his neck. A huge purple bunny in overalls stared at him with unfocused eyes.

"I'm not lost!" Zim blurted. "Everyone else is!" The bunny grunted again, its foam mouth frozen in a cloth smile. It tilted its head to the side and grunted again more urgently.

"What manner of beast are you?" Zim demanded taking a step back. It advanced grunting once more. Zim continued to step back, grasping behind him for any sort of weapon. It reached a gloved hand for Zim's shoulder as Zim backed into one of the many concession stands.

"Don't you touch me!" Zim shouted. He threw a handful of popcorn in the mascots face and ran toward the games. A test your strength scale sat across from a little puppet theater. Zim picked up the mallet that was lying beside the stand. The bunny came around the corner; it tripped and pulled a lever. The curtains of the puppet booth opened to reveal tiny anamitronics.

Zim screamed.

The puppets bounced and sang along with the off key carnival music. The bunny once more tried to reach for Zim.

"I have another idea." Zim growled as he swung the mallet; the cold metal collided with the plush head. Red blood seeped out the mask and dripped off of the singing bunnies. The carnival music hit a high piercing note, the world shifted to the demonic world.

The rides became coated with rust, the lights lost their color and the mascots became covered in bloody fecal matter, a demonic grin crossed their features. All the stands now sold spicy chicken feet roasted on nails. The carnival music dipped a few octaves and all the gaming booths seemed themed around exterminating fantasy creatures. He cringed at the cardboard target that shared an eerie resemblance to himself.

"Well, well, well Zim." A feminie voice chuckled, "Looking for me?"

* * *

The music swelled falling out of tune. Turning he saw the merry go round consumed by a black rust. The horses now were vampire pigs, the bottom a prickly mesh of metal of dingy copper. Dragons and wolves mauled each other on the canvas of the tents. The mirrors had been corroded from years of disuse. In the grim covered glass he could see a flash of purple and a gleam of metal. He turned abruptly there stood Gaz an old pipe in her hand.

"Zim requires your assistance human child." Zim attempted, but the girl shook her head. "I can't stand being trapped in this horrible stink-pit any longer."

"Since when have I ever helped you?" She glowered. "If you're not going to leave me alone, you could at least have the decency not to treat me like an afterthought. The only thing keeping you and this planet sheltered from my rage is my stupid dad."

"Zim wishes to punish the Dib-thing, surely that must interest you." He tightened his grip on the mallet.

"I didn't think you liked having 'human' fun." Her mouth was cut at the sides in an exaggerated grin, but the child herself wasn't smiling. Gray skin with blue blemishes covered her neck and arms, sheltered from view with a torn dress. A rodent skull hung on a frayed rope around her neck. "I guess I was wrong." She raised the pipe and lunged forward. Zim beat the weapon aside with his mallet. "I wonder how many lives you have left here. You're looking pretty banged up."

"And Zim thought you couldn't get any scarier Dib-sister." Zim smirked. He swung the heavy bludgeon into her neck, dropping the frail body to the ground. She twitched, trying to stand after the crippling blow. Another swing to the head and she lay motionless on the floor of the carousal.

"What's wrong Zim," Gaz cackled, "tired of my help already?" Zim glanced at the body on the ground to confirm it was, indeed, still there. Another Gaz stood before him, a chain saw revved in her hands. 

"You're cheating!" Zim accused.

"Poor naïve Zim. I'm not cheating." a roach crawled up her leg and scurried up her nose, "The 'rules' of this world don't work on me, no matter how much either of you want it to." She revved the engine and swung the blade recklessly toward Zim. He swung the mallet knocking her off her feet. She lay unable to stand, Zim stormed closer.

"But that's not fair!" He swung the bludgeon high shattering her skull.

"Life's not fair Zim!" Another hissed. "You think I want to be like this?" She bared her wrist covered in rope burns. "All I wanted was to be left alone, but you keep dragging me into your bullshit and leaving me to rot. I'm going to finally end this cycle once and for all, by getting rid of you." She raised a dagger and aimed for Zim's eye. He grabbed her wrist.

"What do you mean? Why is everyone here attacking Zim!"

"Because you're different!" She spat. "Haven't you learned anything about humans Zim? We destroy what's different when it can't conform to our wishes."

"But Dib-" Zim tried.

"My brother's no different. He won't stop until all of us are as crazy as him." She leaned in and whispered into his antenna. "Except you." The skull that hung around her neck stretched, bit into his throat. He ripped the knife from her grasped and shoved her forward into the mirror pillar. She stumbled, Zim swung the mallet with his other hand. She dodged and the weapon broke the mirror instead. Her rib cage cracked and caved in an identical pattern. A blood curdling scream came from the walking Gaz, her body shattered before his eyes. The others vanished as well, he pulled the hammer out and tossed it aside with a thump. Inside cob webs held a corpse in a sitting position. There Gaz's real body sat unmoving with a glowing console in her hands. Her hair was thin, her eyes has been gouged out, the sockets were sunken in but she had been dead so long the blood no longer flowed. A key hung where her skull necklace should have been. Reaching out he pulled on the house key. There was a snap as the vertebrae in her neck pulled away from the body. Zim jumped back as the head of Dib's scary sister rolled before him.

Glancing at the key he wondered why was he the only one? Once he found Dib he would get answers, even if it was the death of him. Which it probably would at the rate he was going. He looked down at the hammer, it was effective but the weight made it highly impractical for travel. Gripping the knife in his pocket he left the fair determined to get some answers. A loud cackle shot through the fair. He jumped, then looked at one of the demented bunny mascots.

"What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Nothing," It smirked, "except this." The small creature threw a pie at him causing Zim to fall backwards. He wiped the pink tinged substance.

'What the-" The pie reaked of meat, Zim screamed in anguish as the substance burned his skin. "How dare you mar Zim's incredibly good looks!" Zim shouted. But the mascot didn't move. The world was right again, soft ash fell from the sky and no immediate danger haunted the grounds. That didn't stop Zim from ripping up every stuffed bunny he saw on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Was it terrifying? (4) Or just another fanfic? (1) Write down the number for each chapter. At the end, the number you get the most will determine your ending.  
> 1*2*3*4


	8. Level 8: Unarmed

Zim stood outside the wooden structure and took deep breaths. The house looked exactly like a rundown version of Dib's house, complete with a failing electrified fence in the yard. Which was, odd, certainly they were miles away from any Membrane technology and yet... He thought he could hear voices on the other side of the door, though it was hard to discern the nature of them. Shaking, Zim raised the key he had stolen from Gaz's corpse to the lock. He prayed this wasn't a trap to lead him further back into the town.

The door slowly opened inward, breaking into the darkness with a thick beam of light. Dead leaves scrapped the bottom of the wood floor as the wind pushed against Zim's back. An old record player was playing mournful melodies in another room. Relinquishing his grip on the doorknob and stepped further into the main hallway. The pictures that decorated the walls were tilted or shattered on the floor, leaving lightened shadows on the wall. All the photos had the faces burned into obscurity by smoldering sage. On the floor, buried under broken glass, was a landline phone that had been ripped out of the wall and smashed against a small end table. 

As he made his way down the hall, he found a door that had been slammed open so hard enough hole to puncture the drywall with the knob. The brass record player skipped as Zim entered the room. Pages from a battered magazine blanketed the floor, crumpled from being stepped on. A few pillows were on the floor next to an over turned coffee table. Some of the technology Dib had stolen from him over the years were smashed to pieces underneath the coffee table. But, he thought Dib had been incapable of bringing them with him on the trip.

"Careless human." Zim muttered as he walked carefully about the room. It was too much energy to channel his anger into a wonderful performance when no one was watching. He nudged the remains of a lamp on the floor with his boot. In the glossy ceramic he saw the reflection of a torn doorway. Pieces of the door frame had been ripped off with desperate hands, blood sprinkled in among the splinters.

Dib had been here.

_A shadowy figure burst through the front door, knocking down objects as it passed. It pushed the living room door open and glared down at a boy. His black cowlick hung limp as he leaned over the coffee table. The boy flipped through a magazine with a bandaged arm, comparing the various pieces of technology to diagrams in the book. The shadow glared at him and ripped it away._

_"Again with this nonsense!" It roared "Why are you wasting our time with these toys?" The figure leaned in and glowered. "Every second you waste prolongs our suffering!"_

_"I'm trying to help-" It pounded a fist against the table._

_"Your para-science helps no one other than yourself."_ _The shadow gripped the injured boy by the hair. "This had gone on long enough." He dragged the boy towards the door. "This time I will cleanse you."_

_"No!" The boy shouted. He gripped feebly at the door frame to stop the inevitable._

Zim walked toward the stairs. Eyeless family portraits smiled back at him in a mocking façade. Books lay scattered on the floor. He continued to walk and begun to climb the stairs. Red dripped from a loose nail on the fifth step and climbed up the steps in a thin streak. Cautiously avoiding the nail, Zim continued his assent, as the runner rug grew more and more charred. Zim's gaze drifted atop the staircase to a blackened door with no handle. The once vivid post that decorated it a charred mess. On the floor below it, a padlock lay in shambles . Slowly he pushed the door open.

The room was covered in ashes. Avoiding a broken beam, Zim made his way to the closet door. A red X was painted over the wood. A few photos poked out at the bottom of the door. The invader lifted one of the photos off of the floor. Someone had cut a person out of the photo. He lifted another; again the photo had no one in it. Nudging the door open all the way a plethora of pictures spilled out. Thousands of photographs had been turned into empty frames. He turned, there in on the far wall a rune had been painted in red.

_The boy was slammed roughly into the wall, knocking some books off the shelf as the shadow turned abruptly. Despite the boy's protests the shadow continued to pull the boy up the stairs._

_"I will not let my efforts be wasted on your insane obsessions!" It shouted. The boy hit a snag on the stairs. One of the nails on the banister stuck out in an awkward fashion. The dull metal tore at the boy's leg, but still the shadow proceeded. It ripped open the door, a lock in its hand. The boy clung desperately to the railing. However in his injured state it was not enough to cease the process. Once again the figure asked. "Do you believe in aliens?" The boy feebly shook his head, desperate to avoid punishment. "You can't lie to me. I know what you've been up to." He shoved the boy into his own room and stalked after him._ _He scrambled up and ran for the closet. Placing his body in front of the door as he watched his attacker come into the room._

_"Where are they?" It growled._

_"No where, I got rid of them!" The boy pleaded. The shadow glared at him and threw him out of the way. It swung open the door and pulled out a handful of pictures._

_"Got rid of them hunh?" It scoffed. The shadow pulled out a pair of scissors._

_"No!" He reached for the pictures. The shadow kicked the injured boy to the side and punctured his shoulder with a long thin needle._ _The shadow piled papers and cut out figures in the center of the room. It struck a match and dropped it onto the glistening pile._

_"This is for your own good." The fire made the freshly painted symbol of a lotus trapped inside three overlapping rings gleamed. In each hand It took a hold of the limp boy's body and dragged him out of the flaming room._

Zim stared at the charred papers in the center of the room.

"What happened here?" Zim asked.

"I should ask you the same thing." A voice called behind him. Zim switched on the defensive and whipped around. Dib's father stood in the doorway of his son's room, calm and aloof as always.

"How dare you sneak up on the Almighty Zim!" he growled. The scientist's eyes dulled briefly before shaking his head.

"Zim?" He shifted to a warm smile. "You're my son's little foreign friend right?" Zim relaxed slightly. It made sense someone would have come looking for them by now. As confusingly daft as the man was, he did seem to occasionally take a passing interest in his son. 

"And you're the Dib's parental unit, no?" Membrane nodded. Zim looked him up and down. He wore a clean lab coat and blue goggles. "You're not a monster like the others." Zim observed, poking the man's side. The scientist sighed. "You're not hiding rot or ickies anywhere are you?" Zim began to circle the human. "No fake eyes or monkey shrimp?" Membrane chuckled.

"No, I am normal." Zim eyed him as he pat the invader on the head. "You've been through quite an ordeal haven't you? The other children weren't nearly as dirty. You barely look human."

"Zim is a normal human worm baby!" He hissed, swatting away the gloved hands.

"Of course you are." Membrane dismissed. "So… What are you doing all the way out here?" Zim dropped his guard.

"I'm looking for the Dib." Zim confessed. "He has been leaving his Dibness everywhere, but I haven't found him." Membrane gave Zim a inquisitive look.

"What a kind child."

"No!" Zim faltered, "Yes? ...It's complicated. Just take Zim to him!" There was an awkward pause.

"All of the well people have been evacuated to the church for decontamination, my son his with them." Zim took a step back.

"Then why are you here?"

"I got a call from my wife that said we may have missed a boy with a skin condition during the rescue attempts."

"… the she-human from the hospital." Zim muttered.

"We need to get out of here." Membrane declared. "It's a sign of the times when you can't feel safe in your own home." He shook his head. Zim began to walk down the stairs. "If you're heading to the church I could give you a ride." A rare chance to not have to walk. Maybe he could hold the human at gun point and make him take Zim directly to his base! ...except he didn't know the human coordinates that would direct the human to the correct location. That information belonged solely to Dib.

"…fine."

* * *

He looked out of the window of the car, the worn buildings flashed past. Zim turned and looked at Membrane.

"You're intelligence is above average human, right?" He asked. Membrane nodded, focused on the road. "So you're not completely stupid?"

"Is there something you wanted to ask me child? I know lots of things." Membrane straitened. "I am after all A SCIENTIST!"

"…right." Zim shook his head. "Earth has always been a wretched pit of filth, but this place is especially infested. Do you know what's going on here?" Membrane froze, a silence filled the car. 

"No, not really." He glanced over at Zim's downtrodden face. "Fear not child, I have a plan."

"That's what Zim thought." Zim shook his head, he could care less what happened to this town after he took Dib out of it. 

"Actually," Membrane confessed. "I do have a theory." Zim perked. "We are becoming victims of mass psychogenic hysteria."

"What?" Zim scoffed. "That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard!"

"What I mean child, is someone else's perception of the world is being forced onto the populace. We are seeing what they see in people, and directing the behavior of the lesser minded with these subliminal messages. The only way to stop it is to stop the messenger." Zim crossed his arms.

"Oh and who exactly is this stink beast?" Membranes gaze grew cold.

"That is not of your concern." The alien shook his head and looked back out the window. The church was in sight. A wide building built into a depression in the forest floor. The road down was steep and Zim could see rows of different cars parked along the building's side and in between the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliff hanger! Sorry, but it had to be done. Is Zim gonna find Dib? Or will said nemisis be missing yet again? You will find out, but first rate the chapter 1 for mild, 4 for horror.  
> 1*2*3*4


	9. Level 9: Dagger

The car slowed to a stop outside of the church. Deep red bricks formed the structure, dead ivy hung on the walls. The windows had been boarded shut from the inside. Above the door was a stained glass portrait of a saint Zim couldn't recognize, welcoming all who approached with open arms. The glass, though dirty, was mostly intact, save for a few pieces over the left breast. All in all, the place felt far more mundane compared to the rest of the town. Zim opened the door to the vehicle. A stiff breeze came from the west causing the building to moan.

"I apologize for not finding you sooner." The scientist attempted to make light conversation, as he searched for the keys to the church. The invader was far too tired to play along.

"You may grovel at another time human." Zim grimaced. "Once I am back home and have rinsed the filth of this town off my uniform."

"We have clean cloths inside." Membrane opened the door and gestured for Zim to follow. "No running water unfortunately, but we make do." Zim shook his head. He'd rather not risk exposing himself to these human's idea of clean. He looked back for a brief glance of the outside world before proceeding. Soft ash fell from the ledge as the door closed behind him.

The main entry way was light with a small table lamp. By the door, a large book filled with names sat on a pedestal, many people had been crossed out. Further into the church was shrouded in darkness, leaving Zim with a sense of unease. The chapel was cold as a tomb and he couldn't hear any signs of other humans in the building.

"It's pitch black in there." He said.

"Now who did that?" Membrane shook his head. "I told them to leave at least one candle lit on the mantel. It's not like the light could be seen through the windows." He chuckled. He entered the darkened room with a somber expression. "It's a real pity you came to see my son."

"Why?" Zim demanded, his eyes widened. "He's not hurt is he? That pitiful worm, how dare he-"

"No no no, he's fine." Zim sighed in relief. "Well almost. You see my son has a debilitating condition. Despite my efforts, he refuses to accept the help needed to get better." He lit a candelabra at the end of the aisle. The warm glow enticed Zim inside, eager to escape the cold.

"Why would Dib-stink do that?" Zim hugged his armed to his chest. "He's stupid, but not crazy."

"Oh he's crazy all right." He said quietly. "I've tried everything known to science and still he seems to believe it is better for him to remain ill." The flames reflected off of Membrane's goggles. "Something keeps reinforcing his toxic mental state." Zim backed away as his eyes darted around the room. There were shadowy figures blocking the doorway, but they didn't try to enter the heart of the chapel.

"Where are all the humans?" Zim hesitated. "Weren't they supposed to be here?"

"Are you sure you want to meet the others, you seem frightened." So those were the humans? He'd never seen humans so still or quiet. "It would be better for you to wait until the I've properly prepared. I don't want you spooking anyone into leaving before the ceremony."

"...Ceremony? There's no need for any ceremony!" The alien fumed. "You are here, the Dib thing is here! We need to collect him and go home!" He had no weapon to threaten the human with, so instead he brandished a pointed finger.

"He's not going anywhere with you." Membrane turned to him with a grimace. "He continues to cling to these fantasies because of you. It's putting humanity at risk! As long as you're around he will continue to shirk responsibility, to believe in… aliens." He looked up at the chandelier above. "With you gone he will have no reason to fight me." He laughed. "Your death will mark the beginning of a new era of father and son forging a world of science together!"

"You're crazy!" Zim shouted. The shadows inched toward him, filing in along the walls, blocking each window.

"Me? Oh no dear boy," he walked toward Zim with a syringe in hand "you are severely mistaken." There had to be a way out of here! He ducked under the pews and crawled toward the back wall. As the figures closed in behind him, Zim pulled open a side door and disappeared down the stairs.

The deeper he went into the basement, the louder the alarm rang.

* * *

Cadged torches lit the way as Zim climbed down the spiral stair case with increasing speed. Between the grey brick, rusting mortar dripped blood. He could see the stairs beneath his feet rapidly decay and buckle under his weight. 

"Where are you?" Membrane's muffled voice echoed behind him with impish glee. Zim began skipping steps as he ran, his work of breathing strained. The wooden boards groaned in protest from the increased abuse. The last step snapped throwing Zim onto the cold stone floor. "There you are!" He could hear the scientist clear as day a few steps behind him.

The alien clambered to his feet and ran down the hall. Bricks gave way to cramped cages, with naked humans moaning and crying against each other. The longer he ran, the narrower the walkway. The incoherent captives reached for him through the bars, shrieking and begging to be released.

At the end of the hall Dib's name was painted on a large iron door. He was here! But Zim needed more time to formulate an escape plan before the professor could reach him. As he reached Dib's door he could see the rows of cages stopped, with a concrete hallway on the left and right. Zim took an abrupt turn down a side corridor. He grabbed the handle of one of the unblocked doors and entered hastily. Breathing a sigh of relief he stopped and waited to hear if Membrane would be able to find him. However the only sound he heard was heavy breathing, and it wasn't his.

* * *

A few beams of light fell into the room through a small window allowing minimal visibility. Turning slowly Zim looked at what it was he had closed himself in with. On the floor a black clothed woman sat, her head hung down and her breathing ragged. The two of them remained in an awkward silence, her low growls the only sound in the room.

Slowly Zim reached for the handle of the door eyeing the other being in the room. His hand landed on the metal knob, a small creak came from the cogs. The breathing stopped abruptly, boney hands inched along the floor. The was a soft shuffle of chains as she changed positions. The door swung open and she lunged toward the bright light, gnashing long, yellow teeth through an rusted muzzle. Iron chains held her back as veiled eyes sightlessly roamed around the room. He slipped out the door shutting out her irate growls.

Glancing around once more, he froze. There were no footsteps in the hall, no angry shouts. He was safe for now. Zim made a slow advance, still wary of the silent hallway. A few more moments passed before he picked up the pace. A loud thunk came from upstairs as people filed into the cathedral above. The long line of cages were dark and empty, their doors wide open.

He was running out of time.

He ran past small corridors and paused. There at the other end of the narrow passage was the exit. It stood there mere feet away from where he was. A quick sprint and he was home free. He glanced back at the door with Dib's name on it. Maybe Dib was already dead? Maybe he was too far gone from blood lose? Or worse, perfectly fine without Zim? He turned to the exit. He didn't need Dib, he could just waltz out, find a new nemesis to take him home, finish his mission finally and become tallest. Why did he have to keep risking his neck for that stink beast? He turned paused, cursing himself. One thing was for sure, he wouldn't leave without answers.

* * *

"Dib-thing you have a lot of tasks on your list of repaying Zim!" Zim shouted as he opened the door. He clawed at his face as he ranted at the cieling. "While you've been carried everywhere, Zim has had to deal with your insane planet's filthies and unreliable weapons. Zim had to be nice to your stupid parental unit which, by the way, WANTS ZIM DEAD! I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill you too, so thank Zim. Thank Zim for saving your pathetic life!" There was a long pause. "Well aren't you going to grovel? It's the least you could do after Zim came all this way." He briefly panicked, was the boy not here either? But, no, there was a human lying in bed with his nemesis's cowlick.

"Dib?" Zim's voice softened when he noticed no one had tried to interrupt him. "The brain squishies didn't get to you, did they?" He stepped forward looking down at the gurney in the middle of the room. Dib was in a stained strait jacket, fresh blood dripped from his right elbow and pooled under his back. His right leg had a long gash that couldn't have happened less than a day ago. Leather straps buckled him down to the gurney. The light above him reflected off his glasses, but Zim could see the human was struggle to keep his eyes open. Zim felt a small amount of pity for the sweaty human, whose eyes couldn't focus on Zim for longer than a second. 

He started to unbuckled the human's ankles. The human was incredibly weakened, but perhaps with a few hours in the sun, he'd become of some use again. The restraints were locked in place, with no emergency release. An iron door behind Zim swung shut causing the alien to turn around with a start.

"That wasn't very nice; running away like that." Membrane said shaking his head.

"What have you done to him!?" Zim immediately let go of the straps. Perhaps a key to the restraints was on Membrane's personage.

"Nothing really, many of the injuries he has were sustained from the crash. I took him to the apartment I was staying in, but he tried to run out looking for an alien... Even after I burned all of his paranonsense, I could reverse the damage his psyche has done to this town, to you. It's his fault you look so unearthly child, I... I'm so sorry." He pulled out a gold-tipped needle. "I've kept him a sedated to slow the progression, but that could wear off soon as well, so we'll have to hurry."

"What do you mean we?" Zim hissed.

"You're coming with me." Membrane grabbed the alien roughly by the shoulder. 

"No! Get your filthy, lying hands off of Zim!" He grabbed the scientist by the elbow and used his weight to throw the man to the ground. "HAH!" He mocked only to be tripped when he tried to run. His head collided with the hard floor and the world fell from his grasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it, kind of a short chapter. But things are going to change from here on out. So rate the last shared chapter.  
> 1*2*3*4  
> Now here comes the fun part. Look at all the numbers you've collected through your journey and see which one you chose the most. That will be your ending if it's a tie then choose the one you found more fitting for the whole story, why? The more frightened someone is the less they think clearly and make good choices. So if you got mostly ones then you would have made smarter decisions in Zim's place then someone who had mostly fours and was panicking. All four endings will be released at the same time on Halloween Night! ^^


	10. Ending 1: All's Well That Ends Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone!

Zim awoke to the sound of people murmuring amongst themselves in the pews. His arms were bound behind him with a thick rope that grated at his skin as he sat in the front row. An iron chandelier hung from the red wood ceiling. Below a deep hole had been forcibly carved into the front of the room where the alter used to be. A thin wooden plank reached out toward the center of the hole, a diving board into the sea of darkness. On the far wall Dib's hospital bed was suspended in front of a red lotus rune. His limp body lurched toward the endless abyss below, but was held to the frame by the leather straps. Zim tried to stand but a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up to see Membrane's maniacal grin.

"I know you're eager to help people boy," he chuckled, "all in good time." The scientist stood and turned to his fellow human beings. "You have all come to witness a great day for science. Today this strange boy will sacrifice his life for the greater good. His death will take with it my son's foolish fighting spirit and release us from this mass hallucination!" The people cheered through the melancholy. Zim's eyes widened as Membrane hoisted him up by one of his bound arms. He kicked and writhed, trying to touch the ground so he could run. Membrane merely chuckled, carry Zim toward the end of the plank. "Let the sacrificial ceremony begin."

Membrane began to ramble on what the new world would be like without Zim. The wooden plank beneath his feet teetered under his weight. Each breath he took threatened to plunge him into the darkness prematurely. Adrenaline ran like fire through his veins, he couldn't die like this! Struggling at his bindings Zim reached behind him in a vain attempt to untie the ropes. A sharp pain shot through his body as his hand brushed against his back pocket.

The knife from the carnival! The human must have assumed he was unarmed. He double checked his surroundings, Membrane was still ranting about his visions of the future, his audience captivated. Zim brought the knife up awkwardly to the rope and hurriedly sawed at the fiber. The board below his feet bobbed, letting out a forbidden groan as he hacked at the rope. Membrane whipped around just as Zim was free from the ropes. 

"What do you think you're doing!" He shouted. "You're about to ruin everything we've worked for!" Zim took a step back toward solid ground.

"We nothing! I'm not going to die here, ever!" He ran, trying to get to safety as quick as possible.

"Why must children be so difficult?" The scientist kicked the board beneath Zim's feet as he was inches from the edge. It tipped into the darkness and the world seemed to rise as Zim fell. The knife clattered on the edge of the pit as he reached for anything to grab hold of. Zim was dangling from the circumference of the hole, his grip slipping by the second. Stepping forward Membrane looked down at Zim, his foot raised ready to step on Zim's hand.

Zim glowered up at the scientist as he pulled himself to his chest and grabbed the knife. He plunged it into the human's boot. The man hollered falling backward on the worn wooden floor. Heaving Zim lifted himself out of the hole. He looked at all of humans huddled in the pews and gave them a deceiving grin.

"Take one step forward and you're going to be worse off than your precious scientist." With that Zim rested his boot on the man's neck, giving light pressure to the contracting muscles. Membrane gaped for air, but Zim ignored him in favor of brandishing his ill-gotten knife. "Do I make myself clear?" The crowd stared at him like a heard of sheep. He stepped on Membrane's neck briefly out of spite, and then made his way around the well to Dib's bed. He glared at Dib's motionless body, knife raised.

"This is all your fault." He accused softly, slicing through the leather straps and pulling the human to the ground. "You have a lot of making up to do." Slumping forward Dib groaned, his forehead resting on Zim's shoulder. The sudden weight threw Zim off balance and the two collided with the hard floor.

* * *

When Zim awoke his head hurt like crazy, a warm pressure lay on his stomach. Squinting he peered around the room. He was back in his base, surrounded by a bunch of Gir's odd knick-nacks on the couch. His arm was bandaged, poorly, and he could feel his PAK finish the last of it's repairs. 

"Master!" Gir knocked over a tower of old tacos to grab his aching head.

"Get off me Gir!" Zim shoved the robot in the face, but was secretly glad his minion looked the way he was supposed to.

"Shh, if you keep moving around you'll wake up your friend." Gir patted Zim on the eyelid and returned to stacking his expired snacks.

"My friend?" Zim asked he looked down to his stomach, Dib lay half on the couch, his head in his arms. He stirred slightly twitching in his chair.

"He brought you here, to hide from the hospeedles." Gir shrugged. "The computer keeps trying to snack on him, so I've been giving it beeeeans." Dib lazily opened his eyes as Zim tried his best to become one with the couch. The human rubbed his tired eyes.

"Zim?" He slurred. Realization hit Dib like a bucket of ice water. "Zim! You're alright! …Not that I care or anything." Zim crossed his arms eyeing the human. "I didn't realize it took one car crash to knock you down for three days, I mean, what have I been wasting my time doing." He laughed halfheartedly as the invader continued to scowl.

"You didn't get hurt?" 

"No." 

"You're not bleeding or unconscious or covered in ickies and gauze?"

"…no." Dib said, pulling his jacket sleeve down to cover a bandage on his wrist.

"You-you didn't get dragged around town helpless and alone?"

"…not exactly? Zim are you feeling alright?" Dib reached a hand to the alien. Slapping it away Zim sighed.

"Zim is fine stink-human, there is no need to worry your gigantic head off." He should feel relieved, but the human was being so smug about rescuing him and he broke into his base. Still, at least they were someplace familiar and not in a human facility.

"Your amazingness is unharmed?" Dib snickered.

"Yes Zim's- Don't patronize me human." Zim glared. He couldn't imagine what damage his PAK took to make him hallucinate like that. 

"I think I deserve to, you were out for three days." Dib shook his head. "I had to bring you back on foot. Your PAK kept trying to latch onto me and ditch your body!" Oh. Great, so more of the human's brain garbage had corrupted his memory files. No wonder it took him so long to wake up. "Do you realize how hard it was to sneak you away from the crash and keep the paramedics? Everyone thought I was insane."

"Yes, yes Zim thanks you for your services." Zim waved his hand as if dismissing the topic. "...Why did you help Zim?" Dib's face went blank. He searched himself for the answer, but nothing came immediately to mind.

"Why? Well…umm…I…" Zim snickered at Dib's mini performance. The human crossed his arms, offended. "Well you'd do the same for me, wouldn't you?" Zim stopped snickering, memories of the dream came flooding back.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't excuse why you didn't try to dissect Zim." Dib rolled his eyes.

"That would be like cheating, I can't say I defeated you if you died in an accident. It wouldn't have been fair..." The pair sat in awkward silence. "So…umm…you feeling better now?" Zim nodded. "Then I should get going. Your computer kinda wants to kill me and I think dad actually noticed I'm not home." He offered his hand to Zim, this time he took it, pulling himself up to sit. Maybe he and Dib weren't so different. Dib pulled back a bit. "How… What happened to your arm?" Zim looked down at his arm, deep gouges were exposing injured flesh. The collar of his shirt lay on the pillow next to Gir's sleeping form.

"I…umm…" It was the same injuries he had in his dream, but it had only been a dream.

"Come on, let's get you bandaged first and then I'll go." Dib shook his head as he riffled through Zim's things at gun point. He could've gotten them himself, but after everything he felt he'd gone through, a little servitude from the human was appreciated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have just gotten the super-duper, happy ending. You are a brave individual and wouldn't have made any mistakes. Bask in your god like courage!  
> It was a real trial getting all of the endings edited by the end of the week, but it was totally worth it. Each one is different and reveals a little more about the world that Zim was wandering through the first nine chapters, so please feel free to read the other endings. I'm glad that I was able to finish before Halloween and hope to hear what you thought of your ending. ^^ Below are the inspiration for the story and the tracks that go with each chapter.  
> Inspiration: 1408, Invader Zim: Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom, Evanescence: The Open Door, Silent Hill 1 and 3, The Suffering, and Resident Evil.  
> 


	11. Ending 2: Truce

Zim groggily pulled himself into consciousness. He on the floor of the main body of the church. A hundred or so humans were huddled in the pews, murmuring among-st themselves as their leader spoke. They sat in ragged clothing glaring above the speaker's head. Where the alter should have been, a large well like hole was torn into the floor spewing smoke out though the cracked ceiling of the church. On the far wall the same rune he found in Dib's room was painted in red. Dib's gurney was vertically mounted in the center with the human strapped firmly in the center. Unaware of Zim's lucidity, Membrane addressed the humans.

"I commend all of your efforts in trying to preserve the normal world we knew and your patience as we've searched for a cure. I have come up with a solution to our problem." He gestured to Dib's motionless form. "All I need to do is to permanently cut his ties with the paranormal world. Finally, we have found the key to doing just that." Struggling to undo the ropes Zim remained silent. A sharp pain shot through his arm as his hand brushed something in his back pocket. Blue blood dripped onto the floor as he gasped. Something had cut him, but what? The knife! He still had it from the carnival. Grabbing it loosely, he poised the knife to cut the rope. The light weight was taken from his hands, to be scolded with by Membrane. "There won't be any of that now." The scientist grabbed Zim's shoulder, forcefully bringing him to the front. He turned to his small audience, alien in hand and a smile on his face. "This noble little boy will make everything worthwhile!"

"What is it exactly that Zim has to do?" He growled. There had to be a way out of this! Membrane carried Zim to a small wooden plank and made him walk out to the center. The thin wood reached a forth of the way into the hole, which stretched longer than it seemed while Zim had been sitting. A blue fire glowed from within the pit.

"Oh nothing much, all you have to do is stand here and be our sacrifice." Membrane said in a patronizing tone. 

"Your what!?" Zim shouted as he turned to face the eager human mob.

"Yes your death is the only way to end the insanity." Membrane gave Zim a gentle push causing the invader to tip backwards. Something inside the deep hole lurched up and took a hold of Zim's arms. The swish of metal echoed and grew louder as Zim fell. He cringed, waiting for the inevitable, scorching death. All he heard however were the startled gasps of the humans around him. He opened his eyes and found he was face to face with Membrane. "H-h-how?" The man stuttered. Zim looked around and saw a strip of barbed wire was coiled around the rope that bound him. The charmed piece of metal hoisted him to the edge of the sacrificial tomb. It sliced through the fibers and moved on to the leather straps that bound Dib. Membrane fell back as the remaining humans scrambled in terror. "It couldn't have worn off by now?" The man whispered, horrified.

"What couldn't? What's going on?" No one answered Zim as Dib fell free from the hospital bed. Mumbling something he stood on shaking legs. He waved his hand and the wire snaked around several bodies cutting deep into the sensitive flesh. Zim's eyes widened at the sight. "Dib made the monsters." He mumbled. People screamed and writhed on the floor, suffocating in a sea of barbed wire as Dib made his way over to his father.

"Now son," he chided, "you know I had only your best interest in mind. I had to." His resolve firmed. "You're hurting the people around you chasing fairytales. These people haven't done anything-" They hadn't done anything alright, Zim knew that humans would rather hide in denial than protect a hurting child. It was how their rivalry had gone on for so long. These were the same people who were eager to sacrifice the two of them for a chance at happiness.

"No one hurts Zim." He slurred, taking hold of his father's neck. The bloodied, barbed wire coiled around his parental figure and constricted. Membrane's body fell lifeless to the floor. All around them, wires mindless searched for their next victim, a little too close to Zim for his comfort.

Rushing around the gaping hole Zim came to Dib's side. The human's eyes were droopy and unfocused as he struggled to remain conscious. The sedative was still coursing through his veins as he came in and out, violently trying to stay awake.

"Zim is fine you stupid stink-beast." Dib leaned forward, resting his head on the alien's shoulder. "Come on let's go home." Dib moaned incoherently in response. "No, we really have to go." Dib didn't move. "Dib?" A light snoring came from the human as his whole body weight leaned against the petite alien causing him to top backwards. He hit the wood floor with a solid thump and the world went black.

* * *

His eyes shot open and darted around the room. A brilliant white assaulted his eyes. He was in the hospital again lying on a cleanly dressed gurney. His head and neck was bandaged and he ached all over. Above all he was scared, what had happened while he blacked out? Struggling to sit up he grabbed his bleeding, unbandaged arm, it was almost as if he had been injured after his wounds were treated. The florescent light reflected off the sterile floor, it seemed too clean now, too new. A woman stood with her back toward him, sifting through some papers. Loud music was blasting in her ears as she did her mindless task.

"What's going on here! Where's Dib!" The invader demanded. He got no response from the nurse. "Hey! Hey! Hello? Answer Zim!" The woman continued looking at the papers on the counter. Zim growled in frustration and threw the bed side lamp at the nurse. "No one ignores Zim!" The nurse jumped with a start and stared wide eyed at the lamp as if to ask it why it decided to join her on her side of the room. She then looked up to see her patient glaring daggers at her. Pulling out her head phones slouched, writing down a few things on a clip board.

"Oh, you're awake." She drawled, adapting an overtly disinterested demeanor. 

"Yes Zim is awake, where is Dib!" The nurse blinked slowly and chewed on the end of her pen.

"The screamy one." She decided finally. "He's in another room. He's hurt pretty bad? Your lucky he was there. Crazy thing shielded you from the impact. Then he started yelling at us. He's really mean."

"Crash, what crash?" Zim thought a moment. "The bus crash but that was three days ago!" The nurse's face twisted into a pensive frown, as if answering Zim's question had been the hardest thing she'd done in weeks.

"We didn't have any kids on Wednesday, but we've been dealing with patients from the crash for three hours." She sighed, her mind already wandering back to her clipboard.

"…How's Dib?" The nurse shrugged flipping through some papers.

"I don't know, not my patient." Zim stared at her for a while.

"Zim is leaving." The alien got out of his bed and left the room.

"Whatever." The nurse sighed putting her headphones in.

* * *

Zim entered 408, Dib sat strapped in the hospital bed. His right arm was in a cast, his chest and left leg wrapped in clean gauze. It was evident the human had tried to fight his admission onto the floor. On the white board 'no shouting' was listed in his care plan under 'aliens aren't real' and 'pillz will make you happy'. He looked up at the alien as he walked in, an eyebrow raised.

"Of course they didn't notice you weren't human." Dib groaned, his one hope evaporating the moment he saw the alien."You know they don't put backs on hospital gowns." Zim immediately looked over his shoulder to see he was fully clothed underneath. "Of course that doesn't matter if they never removed your uniform." The human snickered. "I see the crash hasn't hampered your intelligence any." Zim scoffed, the two stood in a comfortable silence.

"How long until they let you leave?" Zim asked. Now that his PAK had finished rebooting, all function had returned to it, including the ability to call Gir for a ride. After how long it felt like he had been searching, leaving empty handed now felt wrong. His nemesis sighed and looked out the window.

"Four weeks, two if I'm lucky." He laid his head back down against his pillow. "I guess you're going to take over the world then." The human looked back at Zim, a mournful look in his eyes. Silently asking for Zim to change his mind if only briefly. The invader stretched his arms at a leisurely pace.

"Zim has survived a crash, and despite these incredibly good looks, is in a great deal of pain. I'll need at least a month to recover." He casually looked over at the bed ridden human for a response. A small smile crossed the young boy's face. "Until then Zim shall entertain himself by bugging you while you're helpless." The small smile was now a smirk.

"Well I hope that won't be too long. I hate hospitals." Zim sat down in one of the visitor's chairs.

"Why is that?"

"My mother. People said it was a car crash, but I saw her get stabbed by something inhuman." His family was convinced the experience had traumatized him and forced him to go to therapy. He had been so mad at her for so long, before he could truly understand why she never told his dad the truth. "They carted her to a hospital and she sat there for weeks in a coma." His eyes glazed over, fighting back tears. "My dad told them to pull the plug while I was at school. She died alone in a room like this one. Gaz and him, they act like she never existed." Perhaps they were too afraid to bring up the subject around him, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Zim is…sorry that, that happened to you." The two sat in silence for a while. "Zim is also grateful for your sacrifice."

"Hey someone has to stop a full out invasion." Dib whipped his eyes. "Everyone else is too wrapped up in their own problems to care." Zim shook his head, debating on what to do to keep the human from crying.

"No, I meant for saving Zim." He gritted his teeth. "It was counter productive to your mission, and still you-"

"Well, I'm mean..." Dib floundered. "You'd do the same for me wouldn't you?" The invader bit his thumb. Showing any form of respect to the sniveling human was uncomfortable. He certainly didn't want Dib to invoke any sort of life debt with him by denying the boy's request.

"Yeah…I guess I would." There was a long pause. Gir would be arriving shortly, and he didn't want to explain why a robot was crashing through the walls of the hospital. As he stood up, Dib reached out to him.

"Zim… did you have any strange dreams while you were out?" He lingered a while longer as he thought of a response.

"Irkens can't dream Dib."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have received the normal good ending. You are a sensible person and fairly brave. If I only had one ending, this would probably be this one. ^^  
> Below are the inspiration for the story and the tracks that go with each chapter.  
> Inspiration: 1408, Invader Zim: Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom, Evanescence: The Open Door, Silent Hill 1 and 3, The Suffering, and Resident Evil.  
> 


	12. Ending 3: Faith

Zim awoke on the floor in pain; his arms and legs had been bound together with coarse rope. He wanted to thrash around and scream, how dare the humans try to incapacitate him. A dark laughter filled the church hall, followed by thunderous applause.

"Ladies and gentle men!" Membrane called, "We are so fortunate to have a priceless opportunity within our grasp!" The gaggle of humans who had stuffed themselves into the pews murmured in approval. Zim took the brief pause in the scientist's rant to get a firm grasp of his surrounds. An old iron chandelier illuminated the small dark room. Grotesque tapestries hung on the red wood walls, drawing attention to the front. A gaping hole had been carved into the floor, emitting thick coils of smoke. The wide harvest moon bathed the room in an orange tint through the cracks in the ceiling. Membrane grinned at his audience and gestured to the tangled alien on the floor. "Today a noble sacrifice has offered to give up his life in order to end this nightmare once and for all!"

Sacrifice? Zim was nobody's sacrifice! He wanted to shout, but he kept quiet. There had to be a way out of this. While the evil human continue to rant Zim he reached behind him, hoping to find the knot that kept him bound in place. Pain shot through his right arm. Blood pooled in slowly behind him, he had cut his hand on something. The knife! He still had the knife from the carnival. He began the tedious task of sawing away at the coarse fibers.

"…my son's perception of our world will finally come to an end!" Zim's eyes widened. …Dib's perception? This whole time that he had been running around he had been dealing with Dib's view of the world! That was the last straw. Sick of this planet, sick of running around and dealing with this insane world; Zim sliced through the ropes.

"Zim will not be your sacrifice." Zim growled, turned to face the crowd and froze, seeing Dibs emotionless face among the crowd. "YOU! What are you doing!?" He stalked toward the human. "How could you let this happen!? After everything-"

"Now, now," Membrane soothed, "this is, after all, for the greater good."The scientist restrained Zim by the arms as Dib wordless approached.

"I don't care about your greater good you filthy pathetic human!" The human boy took the knife and cast it into the fire. He reared up his legs and kicked Dib square in the jaw. As he writhed, he could heard the clicks and whirs from his PAK fighting the gummed up compartments to try and defend him. Two spider legs jumped out of his PAK, straight through the scientist's rib cage.

"I thought you disabled it." Membrane sputtered through a mouthful of blood.

"I'm trying." Dib scowled. "I just need you to give me full control."

"Never!" Zim retracted his PAK legs. " Zim's going to leave this pool of filth behind and there's nothing you can do about it!" He sliced through Membrane's neck like it was butter and gave the gasping scientist a gentle push on the shoulder. The human tumbled backwards, red gushing down the side of the deep hole. A loud thud came, and flames crawled up the sides of the tomb. Zim watched the human writhe with dull eyes until the human ceased his struggled screams. He turned and faced the crowd that huddled together in the pews. Blood flowed freely from his sliced hand, his left arm throbbed, but still he glared menacingly at the terrified humans. "If any of you even dare to touch Zim, I will not hesitate to slaughter you as well." 

Ash poured down in the church, and the shrieks of winged beasts grew closer with each second. His head pounded as he walked over to where Dib stood in deep concentration."This is all your fault." Zim muttered darkly. Pain shot through his hands and feet as the tips of his fingers tinted black, shooting dark blue veins up his arms. The coiled and compressed, trying to restrict his movements. 

"I'm sorry dad." Dib sighed as Zim shot a PAK lef deep within Dib's chest. The alien let out a shrieking laughter. Red blood ran down the arms, Zim marveled at it, how the strange liquid mixed so beautifully with his own. He held hand up to the light, watching how the harvest moon glimmered off the life giving elixir. The wound given to him from the wolf throbbed, as pain pulsed through Zim's body.

He looked at it as it festered, and dripping thin trails of black ichor down his arm. His head pounded more, begging him to rest, but he couldn't stop. He had to see more of that wonderful red color. He pulled out the silver blade and stabbed Dib once again. His limbs started to feel numb, an electric delight shot through him as he saw more of the red cascade from Dib's body. He inhaled deeply; a sweet aroma filled his lungs.

The smell of death.

He turned and looked again at the people in the stands, each one of them was full of alluring red, all he had to do was bring it to the surface. A grin split across his features.

"Who's next?"

* * *

His eyes snapped open; he heard shouts from above in where he laid. Florescent lights reflected of the linoleum floor casting an unnatural glow about the room. There were people in bio-hazard suits running around an operating table in a panic. Something on it was writhing and releasing strained screams that sounded all too familiar. Alarms kept ringing, only to be silenced periodically. Blood decorated their clothes and the walls. He watched as a man with goggles was being bandaged at the edge of the room.

A strange lethargy clouded his mind as he sat up, pain shooting through the haze as he noticed a collection of purple wires embedded into his arms the nape of his neck. Someone helped him to stand, sputtering garbage he couldn't quite make sense of. Now on his feet, he could see a little green body pealed open on the gurney.

His first instinct was to vomit, seeing his own body defiled and screeching like a mindless beast. His eye implants were shattered on the floor, and every bloodied PAK leg had been ripped out to prevent any other humans from getting harmed. The alien's intestines were stretched up to the ceiling on hooks, to see how far they could stretch before being removed. The organs twitched and convulsed with each ragged scream, as Zim realized he was physically tethered to his old body by the PAK's wires.

"I thought you were an expert on this thing," Membrane looked at him, "what are you doing?" Zim calmly picked up a discarded scalpel and plunged it into the sobbing wreck his body had become. His head pounded as the last of his data transferred into the new host his PAK chose.

"It was suffering." Zim froze. That was Dib's voice. He had Dib's voice. An unbridled rage filled him as he gripped the scalpel tight and severed the wires that held him in place. "You horrible vultures!" He attacked the first person he could get in arms reach and snapped their fragile necks. "What have you done with Zim!?"

"This was your idea." Membrane turned to mutter something to his assistant, but it wasn't enough to stop his rampage. "This isn't the time for a fit of the crazies, you have to pull yourself together son." Zim grabbed on of the suspended PAK legs and used to spear the assistants that rushed to contain him. This body wasn't made for long term combat, but he would push until he had the scientist begging for mercy.

"I will burn your entire planet to ashes." Zim growled as he grabbed Membrane by the ears and smashed his skull into the ground. "I will violate the lives of your children!" He slammed the human down into the ground again. "Your brain will sit on my mantel as a trophy!" He was pulled up by a security guard, able to cave in the scientist jaw with his boot before fully being pulled off the man. "You will watch as every piece of human DNA cannibalizes itself under the reign of the Irken Empire!" Like a starved beast he clawed his way to the scientist, hardly flinching when the sedative pierced his hand. Membrane watched mournfully as the guards restrained the form of his son against his will.

"Sir, we need to get you to the med bay, now." Membrane was ushered away from the screaming child, knowing in his heart he couldn't protect the boy from the storm that was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have gotten the bad ending, you would have been scared by some of the things that happened and would have made some mistakes. All in all you would have made it out of there alive.  
> Each one is a little different and reveals a little more about the world that Zim was wandering through the first nine chapters so feel free to read the other endings.  
> Inspiration: 1408, Invader Zim: Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom, Evanescence: The Open Door, Silent Hill 1 and 3, The Suffering, and Resident Evil.  
> 


	13. Ending 4: All are Punished

Zim woke up in the heart of the church. Dank air filled the room making the wood soft and damp. A cast iron chandelier swung from the ceiling threatening to drown out the moonlight with its electric glow. A thin breeze trickled in from the outside with the light of the lunar eclipse at it's back. Smoke rose from the front of the room escaping through the missing bows of the ceiling. An intense heat came from the pit at the center of the room that was as deep as it was dark. Only the faint crackle of fire wood hinted to what lay at the bottom. The murmur of a hundred humans or so cut through the ambiance.

Zim lay on a moth eaten carpet as if a corpse. Unable to move his arms, he rocked back and forth in an effort to roll over. Someone was walking down the isle, and they had the power to silence every human in the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Membrane called to his audience with audacious glee. "We have been presented with a unique opportunity." He grabbed Zim by the very ropes that held him. There was a clatter as Zim was dragged to the front. "This brave lad has offered himself as a sacrifice to our cause!" He lifted Zim for a moment, and then promptly dropped him on the floor. In that brief moment the red moonlight had reflected off an object near the first row of pews. He squinted from his place on the floor. His knife glimmered, mocking him from underneath the pews. It would have been with in arms reach were he not bound so tight.

Inching forward on his belly, Zim reach for the knife as far as his wrist could stretch. He could feel the cool blade of the knife brush his skin. A firm pressure landed on his hand. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Membrane picked up the daggers, examining it before tossing into the pit. He hoisted Zim off the ground by the back of his collar. "You weren't thinking of running away from your duties were you?" The alien spat in Membrane's face.

He was dropped by the scientist unceremoniously to the ground. The alien inched down the isle towards the door, inciting a panic from the humans, who scrambled to their feet to block his escape.

"Somebody get Zim out of this!" The humans stared at him blankly, like sheep, and refused to move out of his way. The psychotic scientist chuckled at Zim squirming on the dirty floor.

"You didn't think anyone would help you did you?" Zim was picked up again, this time forced to face away from the man. "You're just a simple pawn in a game far beyond your understanding." Zim kicked and writhed, but couldn't free himself from his captor.

"Shows what you know, Dib will come at any moment to save Zim!" He glared at the scientist as he twirled fruitlessly in mid air.

"Oh really." Membrane turned him to face the human he had been searching for the whole time. Dib was mounted vertically on a gurney that had been nailed to the wall. Four point restraints kept him chained to the bedposts. Along the walls and across his figure, red paint mixed with blood dripped in a red lotus pattern. His eyes were open, but he was too sedated to even speak. "I'm not sure you'd want him to save you, after all this is all his fault."

"No, you're lying!" Zim arched his back, trying to bite his hand.

"I think I would know my own son. Anyone who doesn't believe his ramblings are treated no better than livestock. Even I have suffered." Membrane pulled off his gloves to show long torn scars stretching all over his hands and disappearing into his sleeves, leaving the rest of his body to the imagination. "Everyone who exists here is a figment of his imagination, everyone except you."

"Then let me leave!" Zim barked. To hell with the humans here. If this wasn't real, than he hadn't been looking for the real Dib this whole time. Even if he was, no human was worth so much trouble.

"I can't do that little one." The scientist said with a hint of remorse. "I've lost what little power I had over this place. As long as you exist he will keep all of these hate filled visions of humanity inside. I've already cut you out of his memories, all that's left is to remove your influence." Membrane carried Zim over to the pit. "You've seen what he's done to us. I can't let him hurt anyone else. This is the only way."

Membrane was strangely calm as he tossed Zim was into the pit. As he plummeted, he could see the roof above collapse under the weight of the ash. The wind rushed past, his body felt heavy yet light at the same time. Smoke clogged his lungs as he continued to fall. Fire licked at his boots, climbing up the small invader's. He cried in anguish as white hot pain pierced every inch of flesh. His skin cracked, splitting at the joints as it sizzled. Laughter drifted in from above. He slammed into the embers and stone, his PAK shattering on impact. 

* * *

Zim's eyes snapped open. He was still in intense pain, his stomach burned as well as him arms. He stung all over. A woman bustled around him, checking machines that were hooked up to him. He was in a clean white room in shadowed by dim florescent lights. On a metal tray, he could see his PAK had been detached and restrained. Standing next to it was a blond woman typing something into a rolling computer.

"Give me back my PAK" He mumbled. The nurse brightened at the sound of his voice.

"Oh thank the lord you're alright. You've been though quite an ordeal." The nurse rushed over to inspect him, he arms covered in small claw-like scratches. "We've been so busy with all these kids coming in, I was worried we'd have to send you up to the ICU with the others."

"Don't say that." Zim groaned, flashes of the hallucinations he endured threatened to take over once more. "My PAK ditzy human." He was strapped to the bed, probably for lashing out in his sleep.

"No tamogachi right now little man, you need your rest." The nurse giggled. "Your little medical alert thing fell off during the crash, and I wasn't sure how to turn it off. It kept screaming at us when we went to clean your wounds, but when the water touched your skin it caused an allergic reaction. We were starting to think you went into an anaphylactic coma."

"How long have I been out?"

"Three days." Zim sank into the bed. He didn't have enough energy to yell at her right now. Signing he heard the door open. "Oh it looks like you have a visitor. I'll leave you two alone." Zim looked up, there standing the doorway was Dib with a bouquet of flowers in a glass vase. 

"Dib! You're not dead!" The alien almost smiled, but something about the human's demeanor was off.

"Yeah, I know, everyone's super disappointed about it." Dib rolled his eyes, he hovered in the doorway for a long while. "Is that all you're going to say?"

"Zim has acknowledged your existence puny stink-beast," the alien scoffed, "I don't know what else you were expecting."

"Me neither." Dib looked down at the flowers in hand with wide, vacant eyes. "I should have just let you die in the crash with the others. Why'd I think you were any different from other humans?"

"What nonsense are you blabbering on about?" Zim shook his head. "The other worm babies are in the ICU, the health drone said so." Dib smiled softly.

"That's where they send kids who are almost dead." He chuckled with a shake of his head. "It's amazing how easy it is for life support machines to break. A few plug guards and a pair of scissors is enough to kill half a class with these idiots in charge. And dad wonders why I hate hospitals." Zim shifted uncomfortably in his bed. "I even told them you were allergic to water and they still tried to bolus you. I came here to warn you, but..."

"Zim is your beloved nemesis." The alien spouted nervously. "You wouldn't dare eliminate me after everything we've been through. Now return my PAK Dib!" The human paid no attention to the alien technology lying within grasp.

"You always were are smart kid Zim, we could have been friends." Dib rolled the vase between his hands. "It's a shame you're just a rotten as the rest." He approached the bed with a blank expression and dumped the contents of the vase onto the invader. The water immediately burned a hole into the alien's stomach. "I'm so sorry." Dib shouted, though his face remained emotionally detached. Zim writhed as he watched Dib pulled out the call light from the wall. He calmly walked to the end of the room and pulled the fire alarm, causing a downpour from the sprinkler system. "I'll go get your nurse."

"My PAK!" Zim wailed. "I need my PAK!" Dib walked out of the room drenched, leaving the alien screaming and burning in the in water. The blond nurse, came running forward with evident concern.

"The crush has traumatized him; he's been spewing nonsense since I came." Dib shook off some of the water. "Even through the flowers at me. You should probably do something about that laptop thing of his. Security's looking for a bomb that got brought into the hospital."

"Oh my goodness, the poor thing!" The nurse practically shouted to be heard over Zim's screams.

"See? I think he could benefit from some mental help." The doctor nodded and went to call the doctor for a new set of orders. Dib waved at the alien through a window in the door.

"Bye crazy kid." He said and walked out of hospital with the trigger in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You got the worst ending ever! Yep, Dib will destroy the world and death will surround you. You'd probably have made mistakes, ran into monster and get killed.  
> It was a real trial getting all of the endings written by the end of the week, but it was totally worth it. Each one is a little different and reveals a little more about the world that Zim was wandering through the first nine chapters so feel free to read the other endings. Like you weren't going to anyway. ^^ Below are the inspiration for the story and the tracks that go with each chapter.  
> Inspiration: 1408, Invader Zim: Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom, Evanescence: The Open Door, Silent Hill 1 and 3, The Suffering, and Resident Evil.  
> 


End file.
